The Taming of the Shrew
by Hanikamiya2
Summary: A modern twist on the classic play by William Shakespeare. It was just supposed to be a bet, one he could have easily won had she been anyone other than who she was. Unfortunately, things didn't work out as planned for either of them.
1. Prologue

**Mass Disclaimer: I only own this story and the computer I am typing it on.**

Author's Note: This idea just came to me while I was typing the first chapter of another story. Don't know if I'm going to post that one, but oh, well.

On another note, this was originally posted to my account _Hanikamiya_, which I lost access to. I assure you, I am not stealing this story from anyone, unless it is the unintentional theft of a similar idea. As soon as I am able to send Private Messages, I will message everyone who has reviewed the original post of the story to confirm this.

**The Taming of the Shrew**

_Prologue_

"Are you scared?" He asked me quietly. His breath tickled my ear. I looked up at the golden eyes staring down at me. The eyes that I was once so scared of. The eyes that belonged to a person I had once feared. I guess in a way I was still afraid of him. No, not afraid. More like intimidated. I finally found the courage to answer his question.

"Would you hate me if I said yes?" I asked in response. Of course I was scared. He was so… experienced. At least that's what I heard around school. And I was… well, not. I was seventeen and a virgin. Which I loved being. I could look around the school I attended and say 'I will be able to shout from the rooftops when I'm in college that I'm a virgin.' I guess I wouldn't be able to do that now.

He chuckled lightly, closed the gap between us, and kissed me gently. "I could never hate you, Rin." He whispered.

Of course, he would never have said that a year ago. I really don't know what made him change, but I didn't find that very important at the moment. What was important was this moment. Everything I felt for him and everything he said he felt for me had led to this moment. This indescribable moment that left my stomach churning with anticipation.

Why did he choose me? We were on completely opposite ends of the social spectrum. Konoe Sesshoumaru was a rich troublemaker. He got everything he wanted, including girls. Around school he was known as a player and a heart breaker. If a girl was seen with him then she was immediately part of the 'in-crowd'. He hung out with Ookami Kouga, Kaze Miroku, Ashi Naraku, and his half brother Konoe Inuyasha.

All of them, with the exception of Miroku, were demons. And all of them had girlfriends in their counterpart group. That group consisted of Higurashi Kagome, Tenma Sango, Tsuyayaka Kikyou, Kasai Ayame, Seishuku Kagura, and Seishuku Kanna. It was a known fact that Kanna dated Kagome's younger brother Souta. They were both sophomores while the others were seniors.

The girls tended be a bit nicer than the guys, but we still never really got along too splendidly. Kagome was nice to me. Her boyfriend, Inuyasha, was a completely different story. He was one of the worst ones in the group. Always picking on smaller, weaker people, mainly me. Miroku was nice. He at least attempted to stop the torture they subjected me to. Sesshoumaru just sort of stood in the background with Kagura. I didn't really have an opinion about Kouga. He was too thick to say anything intelligent and it seemed like he and Inuyasha were always fighting. Naraku was just… odd. As silent and brooding as his girlfriend Kikyou, he would just stand there, some sort of sick, twisted smirk on his face.

Then, there was me. Public victim number one, some people called me. I was about half the size of most girls in my grade, and the way I dressed did absolutely nothing for the figure that I had. Blue jeans, baggy shirts, and a sweat shirt. Simple, non-materialistic. That was my style. I wasn't rich, but I wasn't poor. I had a part time job at a small café, which is how I was earning my tuition for college. As said earlier, I was a virgin and absolutely thrilled about it. I was still immature in a lot of senses and sex was a big step. I most definitely wasn't ready for it yet, so why was I here? Yes, we had been going out for about a year total, but what if I got pregnant? It would jeopardize my studies and then I wouldn't get into Tokyo University. But, if I told him to stop now he might call me a tease and spread rumors. Oh, well. I had to tell him to stop before it went to far. One of his hands was attempting to undo the button of the pants I was wearing. Now or never.

"Sesshoumaru, wait." My voice was shaky from my nerves, but I hoped he wouldn't notice.

"Are you having second thoughts again?" He asked. I was starting to panic. My breathing shortened to quick gasps and my palms were starting to sweat. What if he didn't care about my feelings about this? What if he still forced me to have sex with him?

"Well… yes." I answered. "I don't want you to misinterpret what I'm saying, but I don't want to do this unless it's with someone that I know I love. I mean, I know it sounds corny and I don't mean to say that I don't have feelings for you or anything, it's just that we're still in high school and to us love is when we've been on three dates and we rush into sex and then something happens and it all just blows up." I was starting to ramble. Great. He was going to call me stupid. To my surprise, he was laughing.

"My sweet little Rin. I have two things to say. One, it's called first time jitters. Two, calm down. I'm not going to force you or anything. And I actually think you started to hyperventilate that time." He kissed me again and moved his hand to my waist.

This was how it was most of the time. Us sitting in a comfortable silence, watching a movie and maybe some light kissing. Nothing overtly sexual. I had a strict policy about getting too intimate with a person while I was still in school. Sesshoumaru appeared to be gentlemanly enough to respect that policy. I mean, since we had gotten back together he had never tried to force me to do anything sexual. But, the first month or so of us dating. That was different. I suppose I should actually start from the beginning, before we were dating.

**Author's Note**: This is just the prologue. Give me three reviews and I'll post the next part.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**: Welcome to the first chapter of The Taming of the Shrew. This chapter is quite long as of yet, so yeah.

**The Taming of the Shrew**

_Chapter 1_

I was seventeen and still rode a bike to school. Most people get a car by the time they're seventeen. I guess I shouldn't complain, though. It helped keep me in shape and it got me some fresh air every day. I could have gotten a ride from a friend if I wanted to, but I didn't. I didn't have to worry about being late or anything like that.

I, Okada Rin, was never late for anything. At worst I was only five minutes early. Today I was going to be half an hour early. Just how I liked it. I'm not rich, I'm not poor. I'm comfortable. My parents and I live in a moderately sized three bedroom house with rice paper doors like most houses in Japan. The extra bedroom housed all of the books that I had collected over the years. They varied from graphic novels to suspense to romance to mystery. I could never make up my mind about what genre I liked best, so I figured it was best to have all of them.

I wasn't exactly the most popular girl in school. As a matter of fact, most people tended to hate me. I was the 'geeky shy girl' to them. I got straight A's, sat at the front of the class, raised my hand to answer each question, and liked to help the teachers after school. So, maybe I was a teacher's pet. That didn't bother me.

Though people didn't like me, most just left me alone. All except for one group. Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Kouga, Naraku, and Miroku. Naraku never did anything to me and generally Kouga and Sesshoumaru were busy making out with their girlfriends. So, Inuyasha was the one that picked on me the most. Miroku, bless his pornography loving little heart, was the one that stuck up for me. Whenever I was running he'd pick me up, put me behind him, and calmly talk to Inuyasha. His girlfriend Sango was nice to me, as well. We didn't really talk, but whenever Miroku wasn't around she would beat Inuyasha if he was being mean. On some occasions Kouga would pick on me, too. It wasn't that often, though. And when he did it was just verbal abuse. He never physically hit me.

I don't know why they hated me. I thought I was a pretty likable person. Sure, I didn't talk much and during most of my free time I had my nose in a book, but I was friendly. I helped new kids find their way around school and I held doors open for people if their hands were full. But, I guess it was based on my social status. Since I wasn't rich they thought of me as lower in status. Oh, well.

The other boys girlfriends, Kagome, Kikyou, and Kagura, were all right. Kikyou never spoke, except to Naraku, and Kagura was usually busy with Sesshoumaru. Kagome would attempt to keep Inuyasha off of me, but it didn't work too well. When he did get to me she would help me up and smile apologetically before running after him. Kouga's girlfriend, Ayame, was much like himself. She wasn't exactly a genius, but she wasn't stupid. Her fiery red hair reflected her personality perfectly. All of them were rich. All of them were gorgeous. And all of them turned heads when they walked down the hall. Simple as that. The hierarchy of my school is like this: If you're rich, you hang with them. And if you hang with them, you're automatically popular. If you're like me, then watch out. Bow to them if you get the chance and then run.

I don't know why Kagome stayed with Inuyasha. I guess because he treated her marvelously. There was a rumor my sophomore year that he beat her. That was quickly ended when Inuyasha beat the person that started it. I believe Kagome beat him up, too, but I could be mistaken.

Finally, I was in front of the school. I parked my bike in the bike rack and chained it before walking inside. Just as I suspected, it was deserted. Sure, there were the teachers, but the halls were empty. I walked into the cafeteria, where they sell coffee, hot chocolate, muffins, and other such of the nature in the morning, and bought a cup of coffee and a chocolate chip muffin. Not the most nutritious breakfast, but I'd burn off the calories throughout the day.

"356 yen." The cashier stated. I pulled the money out of my pocket, handed it to her, and walked out of the cafeteria. The breakfast wasn't what brought me here so early. I could have actually had a healthier breakfast at home. But, home didn't provide one of the best views of Tokyo. I climbed the stairs, passed the second floor, third floor, fourth floor, and finally came to a small door. I twisted the door knob and climbed another set of stairs. Before long I was standing on the roof of the school. This was why I came so early.

The air was still brisk and I was actually thankful that I wore my sweatshirt everyday. I leaned over the railing, looking out over the city. The lights of night clubs were out, there were few cars on the roads. The city had not yet awakened. The sun was just about to peak over the horizon. Taking a sip of the beverage in my hand, I allowed the hot liquid to warm my throat. I took a bite of my muffin and begrudgingly swallowed. I wasn't anorexic or anything, but my size I used to my advantage. I could run faster than most people on the track team and if Inuyasha was about to catch up to me I could easily slide between people's legs. And I could fit into my locker in case I needed to hide. I didn't want to lose that advantage.

I finished the muffin and coffee and disposed of the trash in a nearby trash can. With one last look at the sky, I opened the door and walked back down the stairs. I had had my caffeine and my sugar. I was ready to make it through the day. I peaked around the corner of the door and, seeing no one, made my way to the first floor. It had taken me longer than I thought to finish eating and students were starting to come in. Now, I had to be on the lookout.

"Hey, Rin." I jumped slightly and got ready to run when I heard the person laughing.

"Shippou." I replied. The little fox demon was about three inches or so taller than me and in the same grade. We had been friends ever since our freshman year and he had grown accustomed to me jumping whenever he came up behind me.

"Inuyasha's still outside, so chill. He's trying to decide how to torture you today." Shippou laughed quietly, patting my shoulder when my face paled. "Chill, Rin. Miroku and Sango are both here so he can't touch you. And Kagome seems rather pissed. Maybe she'll sit him again."

I laughed uneasily, glancing at the door of the school. "That's wishful thinking, Shippou. She was massively angry that day." I replied. "Anyway, I better run."

"Aw, leaving so soon?" He pouted slightly.

"Actually, I should have been running about four seconds ago." I waved and then bolted down the hall. Shippou turned around and saw my reason. Inuyasha was in the doorway, but his attention was on Kagome.

"Come on, Kag. I won't hurt her, I promise. I just want to mess with her head a little." Inuyasha begged.

"If you harm one hair on her head I will say the word and laugh my butt off." Kagome growled. He smiled, kissed her cheek, and walked inside.

"Hey, twerp. Where'd she go?" He asked Shippou.

"I don't believe I know of whom you are speaking about." Shippou replied.

"I'll give you three seconds to answer me, runt." Inuyasha cracked his knuckles threateningly.

"She went that way, then that way." He pointed forward then to the right. Inuyasha gave him a fanged smile and ran after me. "Run, Rin!"

The shout just barely reached my ears when I saw Inuyasha come around the corner. I squealed and looked around. No where to go. _'Can't go up, he'll catch me if I try to go around, so best to go underneath.' _I thought to myself. I ran towards him and dropped to the ground, propelling myself between his legs. Once I was behind him I stumbled to my feet and took off in the opposite direction.

"Come back here, Okada!" He yelled before running after me again. Miroku came into my line of sight and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"He's gone completely mental." I stated.

"Okada, I'm going to kill you!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"Save me, please!" I jumped behind Miroku, using him as a sort of shield.

"Now, now, Inuyasha. Violence is really no way to solve your obvious hatred towards young Rin." Miroku chided. He had the tone of a father berating his son for making a mess.

"Come on, Miroku. I don't want to hurt her, I just need to get my exercise in for today." Inuyasha replied.

"So go punch something in the gym. Humans are not exercise equipment. I believe Lady Kaede has told you that." He hid a laugh as he quoted the eccentric gym teacher. Inuyasha growled quietly before stomping off towards Kagome.

"Thanks, Miroku." I bowed slightly and calmly walked to my locker. That was how my day usually went. Get chased by Inuyasha, sometimes get caught, other times hide behind Miroku while he talks to him, and then just walk away.

I opened the metal contraption that held my books and pulled out a hair brush. _'Stupid idiotic dog demon. Always makes me mess up my hair.' _I ran the brush through my hair, wincing as it pulled at a tangle.

"You know, you should really stand up to him." Shippou pointed out.

"And then get beat even worse that I do now? I don't think so." I replied. He sighed gently and turned to me.

"Rin, you're like one of the fastest people in the school, you can handle a sword better than most guys, and to top it off you can argue with anyone about anything and win. You could so kill him if you wanted to."

"But, I don't want to. I'll stick with being his human punching bag for one more year, then it's off to college."

Shippou sighed again and pulled a piece of paper out of my hair. "You've got dirt on your sweatshirt." He pointed out. I glanced down at the article of clothing, swore quietly, and took it off.

"Damn it, I just washed this thing last night." I grumbled. I threw it into my locker and pulled another one out, putting it on over the long sleeved black shirt I was wearing.

"Why do you insist on wearing a sweatshirt every day?" Shippou asked.

"Because it keeps me warm and it's comfortable. I'll see you in anatomy." I gave him one last wave before walking to class. First period was drama. It was one of my favorite classes. Can you imagine me, little miss shy girl of the senior class, standing on a stage and feeling at home? I couldn't either. But, it turned out that I had 'natural talent'. I started off getting minor parts in school productions and slowly but surely progressed to the lead.

I stepped into the drama classroom, smiling at the emptiness. Gachi, the drama teacher, wasn't really a stickler about punctuality, so most people arrived a few minutes late. Again, I wasn't going to complain. It gave me time to play the piano that was in the corner of the room. Yes, I played the piano. I began taking lessons when I was about six or so, and I must say, I was pretty good. I sat on the bench in front of it, placed my feet on the pedals, and slowly began to play.

As I've said many times, I'm a quiet person. And that's how I played. Slow, quiet classical music that my fingers had memorized. I heard the door creak open and instinctively turned to see who had just walked in. No body was there. It wasn't that unusual. Students were walking through the halls now and one of them probably just accidentally pushed the door. I finished playing the song, stood up, and turned around. Lo and behold, there stood Sesshoumaru. Where in all the seven hells did he come from? He didn't have this drama class. From what I heard he had third period drama. Not first. He couldn't be here. I was going to die!

"Are you just going to stand there staring at me?" He asked. His voice chilled me to the bone.

"Yes." I replied. "I mean no." I hastily corrected. I jumped at a loud 'bang' sound and squeezed my eyes closed. _'Not again.' _I thought, pulling my hand away from the piano. The thing covering the keys on the piano had, once again, slammed onto my fingers. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and walked back into the hall. Apparently someone was waiting for him by the door. I bit my lip, trying not to notice the pain that surged through my fingers. I put my thumb in my mouth and sat in my usual seat.

"That hurt." I muttered.

"Rin, you're always so early." The teacher commented, stepping into the class.

"It prevents me from getting trampled in the hallway." I replied automatically. We always had this discussion.

"Has Inuyasha been hassling you again?" Gachi asked.

"No more than usual, sensei. And as I've said before, it gives me more exercise." This conversation was going no where.

"I've told you repeatedly, Rin, that you are the last student in this school who needs to worry about exercise. If you _want_ to exercise then you should think about going out for a sport. The boys could certainly use the extra speed." We laughed and the bell finally rang.

"And what do you know, you're the only one on time… again."

Some light giggling could be heard by the door, followed by a chuckle. "Come on, not now, Sesshoumaru. I have to go. Myouga's going to fry me if I skip class again." Kagura pushed him gently before walking away. I rolled my eyes in disgust and pulled a book out of my bag.

'_Please, tell me that he doesn't really have this class first period. It could have just been my imagination. I mean, isn't having him as my gym partner punishment enough?' _Apparently it wasn't. Because, as students slowly began to filter into the classroom, so did he.

"Now that everyone has joined us." Gachi began. "We have a new addition to our class. Everyone already knows him, so I won't waste time with an introduction. We will be putting on a production of Romeo and Juliet in three months. The casting has already been decided upon and it is as follows: Miroku will be playing Tybalt. Hojo will be Friar Lawrence. Shippou will be Mercutio. And our stars are Romeo and Juliet, played by Sesshoumaru and Rin. Others will be decided upon at a later time." The room instantly became quiet, and then filled with shouts of unfairness.

"Sensei, I must agree with my classmates this time. I thought I heard you say Sesshoumaru and I were the stars." I laughed.

"That is correct, Rin. And the casting was picked according to skill, so you should be honored." Gachi replied.

"I am, sensei, but, that's absurd. That would actually mean that you expect _us_ to work together." I continued laughing.

"Yes, I do. Is something wrong with that?" My laughs subsided into whimpers.

"That's impossible, Sensei. See, I, _we_, can_not_ work together."

"And why is that, Rin?" She asked.

"He hates me! You can't honestly expect us to work together in a civil manner." I was trying not to start bawling hysterically.

"You can at least wait to read about your characters before you decide whether or not you can work together." Gachi scolded. I frowned slightly and folded my arms in front of me. I was usually calm, but this I could _not_ stand for. The teacher began passing out sheets of paper to the people who had parts. Finally, I received mine.

'**Juliet** - The daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet. A beautiful thirteen-year-old girl, Juliet begins the play as a naïve child who has thought little about love and marriage, but she grows up quickly upon falling in love with Romeo, the son of her family's great enemy. Because she is a girl in an aristocratic family, she has none of the freedom Romeo has to roam around the city, climb over walls in the middle of the night, or get into swordfights. Nevertheless, she shows amazing courage in trusting her entire life and future to Romeo, even refusing to believe the worst reports about him after he gets involved in a fight with her cousin. Juliet's closest friend and confidant is her Nurse, though she's willing to shut the Nurse out of her life the moment the Nurse turns against Romeo.'

"Sensei, can I speak truthfully?" I asked. She nodded. "I can't play Juliet!"

"Why not?" Gachi questioned.

"You mean besides the fact that Sesshoumaru and I are sworn enemies and Juliet has to kiss Romeo in the play?" The teacher nodded. "Then absolutely nothing."

"There is no way I can kiss that inexperienced… twit." Sesshoumaru chipped in.

"I'll take the inexperienced part as a compliment, thank you very much." I replied. "And there is absolutely no way that that player is coming anywhere near me in that sense."

"You would be considered lucky if I kissed you. Even I have standards about whom I kiss."

"Oh, that's a shock right there. Seriously. " I hissed.

"Calm down, you two. Yes, there are a couple of kissing scenes in the play. Yes, you two are expected to kiss each other. What seems to be the problem though?" Gachi interrupted the argument that was going back and forth across the room.

"Simple. My girlfriend won't allow it. And there is no way that I am going to lower myself by kissing someone who probably doesn't even know where her lips are in the first place." Sesshoumaru rose from his seat and went to the teacher's desk. At least he had enough common sense to keep the conversation somewhat private.

I scoffed and stood a few feet away. "I'll have you know that I have an A in anatomy, so of course I know where my lips on. And it's not like I want to kiss you either, stupid incompetent, bumbling jock."

"Do you know how to use them, though?" He lifted an inquisitive eyebrow, a smirk on his face. He had me there. "If you can't come up with a valid argument I suggest you shut up."

"That's enough, both of you. I have spoken with Kagura, Sesshoumaru, and after a little deal she has agreed to this. She was in no position to reject my offer in the first place. Rin, you'll have to get over your self-pride and do this." Her tone was serious, but still quiet.

"Can't I just refuse to take the part? I mean, this goes strictly against my policy, sensei." I begged.

"And what policy would that be? No kissing until you're married?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"No. No kissing anybody whose IQ is lower than that of an amoeba." I smiled sweetly.

"Watch it, insect. I've thrown books heavier than you." He threatened.

"I've made guys bigger than you cry." I replied.

"Oh, yeah. What'd you do? Argue with them until they finally realized how stupid you are?" He was in for it now.

"Don't test me, Konoe. I could kill you in three seconds flat just with my hands." I growled.

"Assuming you could reach any vital areas." He replied.

"I said that's enough, you two. Now if you start again I will have to give both of you detention." Gachi snapped. "Rin, you do have the option of backing out of the performance, but I must beg you not to. No other student has the capabilities you do nor the personality."

"What, the personality of a stick? That shouldn't be too hard to find." Sesshoumaru muttered.

"You should talk, idiot." I answered.

"That's it. Detention, both of you. This afternoon, forty-five minutes. Now that you have successfully spent the entire class period bickering with each other, you're dismissed. Grab a script by the door." The bell rang a second after she completed her statement.

"Detention, sensei? I've never had detention in my entire life. He'll rip me to shreds." I told her.

"I'm sorry, Rin, but you should have stopped when I told you the first time. Now, go. You don't want to be late for anatomy." She replied.

"Yes, ma'am." I muttered dejectedly before walking out of the room. _'I'll kill him in gym.' _I thought decidedly.

"Detention… me. Oh, mom is so going to kill me when I get home. That is, assuming I survive with _him_." I groaned and walked into the anatomy class.

"Not having a good day?" Shippou asked, already in his seat.

"That's putting it lightly, Shippou." I answered. "I have just received my first detention."

He turned to me in disbelief. "What? Detention? You? From Gachi? Are you sure she gave it to the right person?"

"Complete sentences, I beg you, Shippou. But, yes. Detention. Me. From Gachi. And you'll never guess who I have to serve it with, either." I put my head on my desk, my hands resting in my lap.

"Who?" Shippou asked excitedly.

I looked up just in time to see the very person walk into the classroom. "Him." I whined. Shippou's bottom jaw fell.

"Is Gachi aware that this is an immediate danger to your health?" He asked incredulously.

I nodded. "Not only that, but she expects me to kiss him in the upcoming play."

"Stop spreading such slanderous lies, Okada." Sesshoumaru barked, causing me to jump slightly. "I'm the one that is being forced to kiss you. You're just the lucky one receiving the action." He stalked to the back of the room where Kagura would soon join him.

"Rin, I understand if you don't come to school tomorrow. Or for the next few months." Shippou placed a 'comforting' hand on my shoulder, shaking his head.

"Shippou, I so want to murder you right now." I lifted my head just as the teacher walked into the room.

"Good morning, good morning, good morning. A new day, and a new chapter. Meaning, a project. Listen carefully as I tell you who you will be partnered with." The teacher, Akio, stated. Ears perked up around the classroom, everyone listening intently. "Yumi and Hojo. Ayame and Kouga. Kagome and Inuyasha. Kikyou and Naraku. Sango and Miroku. Yuki and Daichi. Kagura and Shippou." There was a slight pause.

"Dear God, no. Shippou, please tell me…" I started.

"And Rin and Sesshoumaru." Akio ended. I let out a long moan, burying my face in my hands.

"Question: Is it National Hate Rin Day?" I asked.

"I see you have an objection, Rin." The teacher said.

"I don't mean to be disrespectful sensei, but that would be putting it lightly. Is there anyway that I could get a different partner?"

"That brings me to my next point: All pairs are final. And cooperation while working on the project is worth half your grade. Everyone, gather your books and other materials and follow me to the library." I bowed my head in a defeated manner.

"Shippou, kill me before he has the chance to. Please." I begged as I pulled myself from my seat.

"Rin, I have some advice for you. Girl to girl." Kagura told me. "If he gets out of line, just slap him. Or, if you just feel like getting him back for all the times he's tortured you, slap him." She laughed quietly, quickening her pace to catch up with her boyfriend.

"You'd better be nice to her, Sesshoumaru." I heard her hiss.

"Oh, come off it, Kagura. The only thing I would possibly do to her is say a derogatory comment. And even if I did go further I doubt she would even notice what I was doing." Sesshoumaru replied.

"Konoe Sesshoumaru!" Kagura growled. "I swear, if she has a mark on her body…"

"Calm down, Kagura. I won't lay a claw on her." He promised. I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"You better not." They followed the rest of the class into the library, leaving me and Shippou to enter last.

"Okay, find a place to sit so I can explain the project. Sit next to your partner, though." The teacher said quietly. Again, I groaned. Not only did I have to work with him, I had to sit next to him, too.

"Come on, the quicker you sit down the quicker you can get to work." Kagome and Inuyasha were at the same table as Sesshoumaru and I took the last remaining seat. Kagura, Shippou, Miroku, and Sango were next to us with Ayame, Kouga, Kikyou, and Naraku behind them. "Here's the assignment: Create a replica of your partner. Include all body parts and try to make them as proportionate as possible. I am not grading you on artistic ability. You can use books and the computers as reference for measurements and whatever else you need. Remember, cooperation is half of your grade. Now, go.

The library filled with the noise of chair legs scraping against the floor as the students went to the shelves crowded with the books and the computers at the back.

"This will be sufficiently awkward." I muttered, standing up. Sesshoumaru stood up as well and walked to a book shelf.

"Sex?" He asked me. My jaw dropped.

"Is that all you ever think about?" I replied before the question registered in my mind.

"Female, idiot."

"Well, you'd never be able to tell with the way you dress." He said matter-of-factly. "You look like a twelve year old boy. And I actually think even one of them might have more a chest than you do."

"Are you making fun of the size of my breasts?" I questioned, lifting an eyebrow.

"Wow, you actually noticed."

"I thought so. Hey, wait!" I said indignantly before slapping him. "Pervert."

"I told you be nice to her, Sesshoumaru." Kagura hissed from the other side of the shelf.

"All I said was that her breasts are practically non-existent." Sesshoumaru replied.

"Rin, kick him in the shin before I do it myself." Kagura murmured. I heard Shippou stifle a laugh and I hid a smile. I reached for a book, but couldn't reach it.

"Joy." I muttered, standing on my tip-toes. Nope, still couldn't reach it.

"Aw, does the little shrimp need help?" Sesshoumaru sneered.

"Sesshoumaru, help her. She's half your grade, you know." Kagura replied, glaring at him through the books.

"Fine." He replied. He reached a hand above my head and easily pulled the book down.

"Think about some high heels next time."

"Think about some high heels next time." I grumbled in a mocking tone. I glanced at the wall clock and walked to the front desk. The bell rang in thirty seconds.

"I'll give you some class time everyday to work on this so you don't have to at home, what with finals coming up. Have a nice day, everyone." Akio told the slowly gathering class.

After checking the book out, I slung my book bag over my shoulders, still looking at the clock. Once the bell rang I was on of the first people to leave.

"Hold on, Okada. I have a paper due tomorrow." Inuyasha threw a balled up piece of paper at me and I quickly caught it. "Don't forget."

I nodded slightly in response. He turned around, his hand around Kagome's waist and walked away.

"You know, you're only hurting yourself when you make her do your assignments." She whispered to him.

"How? That's how my GPA is so high. The girl's reason for existence is to do my homework." Inuyasha replied. That was followed by a muttered 'sit' and him falling to the floor. "I'll get you for that, Kagome."

"Oh, yeah? How's that, lover boy?" Kagome giggled as Inuyasha stood up. "Not that look, please. No tickling, Inuyasha."

"Take it back, Kag." He replied, his hands winding around her waist again, his claws tickling the skin under her shirt.

"Never." She laughed. Her face turned red as he continued tickling her. "All right, I take it back, just stop."

"That's what I thought." Inuyasha smirked lightly, kissing her neck.

"See you in gym, Rin. And I'm sorry about him. He's just a big puppy." Kagome called over her shoulder to me. I laughed quietly and headed in the opposite direction.

"Ahh, the phone." I pushed a coin into the coin slot and dialed my phone number. "Pick up mom." I muttered.

"Okada residence, Ami speaking." My mother spoke into the receiver.

"Mom." I replied.

"I was wondering when you were going to call, Rin." She answered.

"Have the doctors come yet?" I asked anxiously.

"Yes, they just left about five minutes ago." The tone in her voice suddenly changed.

"And? What'd they say?"

"I think it would be best if you just found out when you get home this afternoon…" She told me.

"Mom, please. What'd they say?" I asked again.

"Are you sitting down?" My mom questioned in response.

I glanced around the hall for a seat but found none, so I leaned against the wall instead.

"Sort of." I replied.

"All right. They don't know if he's going to last through the spring." She said quietly. My breath caught in my throat.

"A-are they sure?" Tears were in my voice.

"Yes, honey. They're talking about just going ahead and ending his life now so that he doesn't suffer as much." She stated.

I braced myself against the wall, twirling the phone cord in my hand. "Is that Rin?" My father's gravely voice asked. I heard my mom reply with a yes. "Let me speak to her."

My mother must have handed him the phone because the next voice that spoke was his.

"Hello, dearest."

"Daddy." I tried desperately to keep my voice steady, but he still must have noticed.

"No tears, love." He said gently. "I'm not dead yet."

"Daddy, you can't leave me now. You still have to march with me at graduation." I whispered.

"I know that, Rin, and I'll try my hardest to be there, but you know that I can't promise anything." He replied.

"I know, Daddy. But, I don't want you go." I squeaked, tears rolling down my face.

"You've known that I was going to die for quite some time now, Rin. And I don't plan on leaving anytime soon. I'll be home when you get out of school. Now, go to class." His voice quavered and he erupted into a fit of coughing. I could hear him trying to keep me from hearing the noise by covering the mouth piece of the phone. It was followed a click and then the dial tone. I bit my lower lip to keep myself from crying and placed the phone back in the cradle.

I turned around, seeing Sesshoumaru and Kagura at a stand-still behind me.

"Your dad again?" Kagura asked. She was one of the few people who knew about what was going on. I nodded slightly. "How is he?"

"Not too good. I have to go." I muttered and walked around them, heading for the roof.

NORMAL POV

"What's wrong with her dad?" Sesshoumaru questioned once Rin was out of hearing range.

"It's not my place to say…" Kagura answered hesitantly. "You would have to ask her."

"Oh. Well, I don't want to waste our entire free period talking about her. Come on." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. "I have detention this afternoon, so I'll be about forty-five minutes late picking you up."

Kagura groaned and leaned her head against her shoulder. "Argue with Rin again?"

"Yeah. This time she actually argued back, so we both have detention. Little shrimp thinks I'm going to maim her."

"She isn't that short, you know." Kagura replied.

"She's like five foot two. And it's not only her height that makes her a shrimp. She weighs less than Kanna does. And Kanna's a sophomore." With his arm still around her shoulders, they began to walk towards the front exit.

Rin finally made it to the roof, the door slamming closed behind her.

"It's about time. Free period is almost half way over." Shippou commented, turning around to face her.

"Sorry. I had to call my mom. The doctors stopped by the house today." Rin replied.

"Oh. How's he doing?" He asked gently. As much as she tried to fight it, her lower lip quivered and fresh tears started to roll down her cheeks. "Rin, don't cry." He slowly walked over to her and pulled her into a hug.

"They say he isn't going to last through Spring and that it would be best if they just killed him now so he wouldn't suffer." She told him. Her body shook but she could at least control the sobs escaping her mouth.

"Is he going to march with you at graduation?" He asked.

"He said he can't make any promises." Rin replied, leaning over the edge of the roof. "I can't lose him, Shippou. I know I still have my mom, but it's not the same."

Shippou gently rubbed her back and stared at the sky. "I don't know what to say to make you feel better, Rin. I've never been in this type of situation. I mean, I have two perfectly healthy parents, an older brother. I'm sure he'll be fine, though."

"Anyway." She sighed. "How'd things go with Kagura today?"

"Fine. I'm starting to see why Sesshoumaru stays with her and doesn't move on to some other girl. She's really smart and nice. You know, she's one of the only reasons why Sesshoumaru hasn't beaten you up, yet. That and he's said that it's a waste of his time to fight someone who can't fight back." He replied.

"I think someone's got a crush." She joked. "Crush, thy name is Kagura."

"Shut up, Rin. I do not have a crush on her." Shippou snapped defensively. "What about you? Have fun hanging around Sesshoumaru for yet another fifty minutes?"

"Hah!" She laughed. "God, I want to kill him. And I just may in gym."

"Well, you do that. For now, I have to go to Drama. You know we're putting on another production, right?"

"Yeah. You got the part of Mercutio. I'm Juliet." Rin replied. Shippou looked at her quizzically.

"Who's the other lead?" He asked.

"Sesshoumaru." His name came out as a hiss. Shippou stifled a laugh, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Think of it this way, Rin. Your first kiss is only going to be a stage kiss." He laughed.

"Shippou…" She began, a forced smile on her face.

"Three seconds to run, right?" Shippou replied. She nodded. He hurriedly removed his arm from her shoulders and ran down the stairs.

"Come back here, Shippou!" Rin shouted, quickly running after him.

"Come on, Rin. It was just a joke. Can't you just let me live until after the play? It's my first major role." He begged.

"Be happy we're friends, Shippou." She answered, glaring at him for a second before smiling. "Have fun in Drama. I have to get to Calculus."

"You know, you're really scary when you're the one doing the chasing." Shippou grumbled before walking to the drama class.

"I'll see you at lunch, Shippou." She replied with a laugh before going to Calculus. Rin entered the room, freezing instantly. "What are you doing in here?" She asked Sesshoumaru.

"Waiting for class to start, if you must know." He answered coldly.

"I thought you had first period Calculus." She muttered.

"I did, but since I got switched to first period Drama, I got moved into third period Calculus." He hissed.

'_Joy. Kami, you must hate me._' Rin thought, sitting in the front row.

"Welcome, class, to another exciting day filled with math." The teacher stated. "Here's the thing. I have a family emergency to take care of, so we aren't doing anything today. And this is the assignment: It has just hit me how little you all know your classmates. Pairs are posted by the door, I would like you to spend the class time talking to these people to get to know them better."

Chairs scraped against the floor as everyone stood up, rushing towards the paper taped by the door. Rin stood up once most of the class had sat back down and slowly trailed her finger down the list of names. She strained herself to see higher, squinting at the names.

"I must be reading this wrong." She muttered to herself. "A brilliant day to forget my glasses."

"No, you're not reading it wrong. It seems like we're stuck together again." Sesshoumaru replied.

"Can't you just say 'hi' like normal people instead of making me have a heart attack like that?" She growled, glaring up at him.

"Can't you have the common decency to not glare at your superiors?" He retorted.

"Especially those who happen to hold your fate in their hands in eighth period."

"That's a weak threat, Konoe. Even for you." Rin replied, scampering off before he could argue. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and walked back to his desk, sitting opposite of the one she had chosen.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before he finally spoke up. "Are you going to ask me anything?"

"I don't think so." She answered as she flipped the page of the book she was reading.

"What grudge do you hold against me?" Sesshoumaru questioned. It wasn't what she was expecting.

"Pardon?" Rin asked in response, looking at him for a second.

"You heard me, Okada. I've never done anything to hurt you unless Kaede specifically told me to in gym. Yet, you obviously hate me. Why?"

"You may not be the one beating me up everyday, Konoe, but you have never lifted so much as a finger to stop the abuse your brother subjects me to. And sometimes emotional abuse hurts just as much as physical abuse." She mumbled.

"Finally, a glimpse into the mind of Okada. Now, put down the book so we can get this assignment over with. I can't get a zero for something so simplistic." He grabbed the book she was reading, glancing at the cover. "Hannibal? That explains some of the threats you come up with." He snapped it closed and placed it on the desk beside him.

"It happens to be an excellent book, thank you very much. But, ask whatever you want and I'll answer." She replied, hoping she could find her place in lunch.

"How old are you?" He asked.

"Sixteen." Rin's answer was short, but it gave the information asked for. "You?"

"Just turned seventeen. When's your birthday?"

"December 1st. Yours?"

"You're a young one, aren't you? November 25th."

"I'm not that young. Only a year younger than you." She answered. "Past relationships?"

"Getting a bit personal, huh?" A smirk formed on his face. "Started dating Kagura in eighth grade. She's been my only real girlfriend since. Any boyfriends the entire school doesn't know about, Okada?"

"Nope. I'm not into the whole dating ritual crap." She replied. "Have you ever cheated on her?"

Sesshoumaru scoffed. "Do you think I'm stupid? I know a good thing when I see it."

"But how have you managed to have sex with almost every girl in school and still remain loyal to her?"

"First off, who said anything about '_almost_ every girl'?"

"You haven't had sex with me, and from what I've heard, Kagome, Kikyou, Sango, Ayame, or Kanna." Rin replied.

"One, Kanna is Kagura's sister. That's never going to happen. Two, like Inuyasha, Naraku, Miroku, or Kouga are ever going to let me have sex with their girlfriends, even if they break up. Three, we still have a year of high school. That's plenty of time to have sex with you."

"Keep dreaming, Konoe. I plan on staying a virgin forever and then joining the convent." She answered.

"Oh, yeah? This is the twenty-first century, Okada. No one, and I mean _no_ one, stays a virgin past freshman year of college. Now, stepping away from intimacy, how's your home life?" Sesshoumaru answered with a smirk.

"Fine." She replied after a moments hesitation.

"I'm a demon, Okada. I can easily tell when you're lying. The point of this assignment is to get to know each other, which we can't do if you are going to lie about your home life."

"What makes you think you know me well enough to judge whether or not I'm lying?" Rin snapped in a defensive manner.

"I never suggested that I knew you. I simply stated that you were lying, which is now quite obvious seeing as how you're getting so defensive about it. Does it have to do anything with your father? I heard you speaking to him before free period…" Sesshoumaru replied.

"I told you, my home life is just fine." Her eyes glanced at the clock in the front of the room. "And it appears we have run out of time." The bell rang and she jumped from her seat, grabbing the book that was still on the desk next to Sesshoumaru's, and walked out of the room, slinging her book bag over her shoulders.

She forced some hair out of her face, trying her best to stifle a groan. _'I won't let him crack me. He can try all he wants, but I won't let him. We may have the exact same schedule but that doesn't mean I have to speak to him.' _She forced her way through the thickening crowd of students, finally managing to get to the stairs.

"Hey, Rin… Bye, Rin…" Kagura's voice trailed off as she ran as fast as she could without bumping into anyone. Kagura turned towards Sesshoumaru, who was slowly but surely forcing people aside so he could join his girlfriend. "What did you say to her, Sesshoumaru?"

"Absolutely nothing that should have made her respond like that. Trust me. Akata simply assigned a personal assignment since he had a family emergency and we were paired together." Sesshoumaru replied.

"I'll ask again, Sesshoumaru. And don't test me, it's only lunch and I still have government. What did you say to her?" Her voice became a dangerous hiss.

"I asked what her home life was like and she got all defensive. So, I asked if it had anything to do with her father and when the bell rang she just ran out. Now, can we please go to lunch? I'm starving." He put on the most innocent face he could muster.

Kagura's eyes turned ice cold, her hands balling into fists. "You know, you're a genius Sesshoumaru and you know I love you to death, but even Kouga would have enough sense not to ask about her father!"

A growl emitted from Sesshoumaru's throat at the comparison she had made.

"Don't growl at me, you over-grown puppy." She snapped, hitting him on the back of his head. Sesshoumaru smirked seductively and grabbed the offending hand.

"You know it turns me on when you call me that." He whispered huskily, his breath tickling her ear.

"Don't start anything you can't finish, Sesshoumaru." Kagura replied.

"You tease me, Kagura. You should know better than to tease a dog demon." Sesshoumaru wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, leading her towards the cafeteria.

"But the danger will make it all the more pleasurable later." She laughed quietly as he steered her into the line and bought some oden and a bottle of water.

Sesshoumaru purchased some rice and a bottle of Sprite.

"How can you drink that stuff?" Kagura questioned, her voice filled with jealousy.

"Simple. It tastes good and I'm not obsessed about my body like _some_ people." Sesshoumaru answered, giving her a gentle kiss before settling himself in the grass with the rest of their group, pulling Kagura into his lap.

Rin busted onto the roof with such speed that even surprised herself. Shippou had yet to arrive, which wasn't really that odd. The lunch line could take a while to get through. She leaned against the railing on the roof as she had done during free period, her bottle of water held tightly in her hand.

"You know, trying to catch up with you in the halls is like trying to catch up with a cheetah. Utterly impossible." Shippou grumbled as he closed the roof door.

"Well, you know me. Don't wait for anyone." Rin laughed slightly, glancing over her shoulder at him. "How'd drama go?"

"Most excellent. Kagura and I got main supporting roles opposite you and Sesshoumaru." He replied.

"I know, they're talking about it down there." She pointed over the roof, leading Shippou's eyes to the group on the ground.

"Oh, yay. We can eavesdrop today." He smiled and sat down next to her.

"It isn't eavesdropping. They shouldn't be talking so loud." A snort of laughter escaped him as she tried to explain her rationale.

"It's a perfectly legitimate argument, Shippou." Rin muttered defensively.

"You just don't want Sesshoumaru or Inuyasha to find out so you can move when you get home this afternoon."

"Of course, that's a factor as well. Mom's got the night shift tonight, so I have to take care of Daddy. I can't exactly do that if they've broken a rib or something." She took a sip of water, slowly swallowed it, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Is that all you're having _again_?" Shippou questioned, looking incredulously at the bottle of water in her hand. Rin sighed and closed her eyes.

"Do you have to start this now, Shippou? It looks like Sango's about to beat Miroku up. He rubbed her butt again." She glanced over at him for a second before turning her attention to the bickering couple below her.

"I'll gladly put an end to the argument as soon as you eat something." He replied.

"Like what? The lunch line's closed by now." Rin replied.

"Well, have some of my rice, then." He held the container out for her.

"It has shrimp in it…" She grimaced slightly, looking at the piece of shrimp lying on top of the rice.

"So? It's good for you." Though Shippou persisted he knew it was useless to resist 'the force'.

"I'm a vegetarian." Rin replied bitterly. "You know that, Shippou."

"Come on, Rin. There are some vegetarians who still eat fish."

"Well, I'm not one of them." Since he still held the container of fried rice in front of her, she pulled the chopsticks out of her hand and picked up the piece of shrimp. "Bye, little guy." She turned the edge of the roof and released the piece of food from the chopsticks.

The conversation below ceased as the shrimp landed on a rather irritable hanyou's head.

"Okada…" He began dangerously, ripping the shrimp out of his silver hair.

"Five seconds to run, right?" She asked with a nervous laugh. She took a few quivering steps back, getting ready to bolt for the door.

"Wrong! I'm going to kill you!" He stood up, placing Kagome gently on the ground next to him, and jumped onto the roof, landing in front of my. "Mind telling me how that piece of shrimp got in my hair?"

"Umm… it loved you so much that it jumped out of the sea to give you a hug?" Rin gave another nervous laugh, still stepping backwards.

"Wrong answer, Okada. Since I don't want Kag to sit my ass to hell and back, I'll give you a three second head start." He flexed his claws threateningly and Rin squeaked, sent a glare at Shippou, and ran for the stairs leading off of the roof. "I'm going to kill you!" He took off after her. The other couples on the ground jumped up and ran to the front of the school.

Rin made it to the first floor, sliding on the tile as she turned a corner. Inuyasha wasn't far behind her until Kagome yelled 'the word'.

"SIT!" She shouted. Inuyasha landed face down, giving Rin just enough time to pull her locker door open and conceal herself inside.

"It isn't normal that she can do that." Naraku murmured. His hand was wrapped around Kikyou's, the thumb slowly tracing circles on her smooth skin.

"Tell me about it. Kanna can't even fit inside a locker. Comfortably, at least." Kagura replied. Inuyasha pried himself from the floor and glared at Kagome.

"What was that for!" He asked angrily.

"You're three times her size! Give her a break!" Kagome answered.

"She threw a piece of shrimp in my hair!"

"You cover her with dirt everyday!"

"That's different!"

"How so? _You're_ the one covering _her_ with something?"

"Yes!"

"Can I say something?" Shippou asked cautiously.

"What?" Kagome replied

"Keep him off of me and I'll tell you." He backed away from the enraged hanyou.

"He won't touch you, Shippou. Now, what is it?" To prove her point, Kagome latched a hand onto the sleeve of Inuyasha's shirt.

"I offered Rin some rice that had shrimp in it." Shippou stated.

"So…?" Ayame asked.

"I'm a vegetarian!" Rin's voice reverberated off of the metal lockers. Inuyasha growled and raised a fist.

"I am so going to kill you in gym, Okada." He hissed.

"Give her one bruise and you'll be sorry." Kagome replied sourly.

"How so?" Inuyasha challenged.

"Speak to me like that again, puppy, and you can say bye-bye to your sex life." She smirked and walked away. Inuyasha's eyes widened and he ran after her.

"It's amazing how she can do that him." Sango sighed. "Anyway, fifth period is about to start. See you guys later." She turned to Miroku and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips before walking towards the office. Ayame, Kouga, Kikyou, Naraku, and Miroku walked towards the stairs, leaving Kagura and Sesshoumaru alone in the hall.

"Why does he treat her like that?" Kagura asked. She walked to her locker and slowly twisted in the combination.

"He just doesn't like her. Never has." Sesshoumaru replied. He opened his own locker, which was next to hers.

"But why? You don't like her and you don't threaten to kill her everyday."

"It's not that I don't like her, it's just that I have a reputation to protect."

"Hey, guys." Sesshoumaru turned to see Kagome's little brother and Kagura's little sister standing behind him.

"Oh, hey, Kanna. Something wrong?" Kagura asked.

"No. I just wanted to tell you that I'm going out with Souta tonight and I won't be back till late." The sophomore replied.

"Is Rin in her locker again?" Souta questioned. Kagura nodded and Souta walked across the hall. "Combination, Rin."

"Is the psycho gone?" Rin asked.

"Yeah." He answered.

"46-16-47." Souta twisted in the numbers and opened the door.

"I don't see how you can still do this." He helped her out and straightened her disheveled hair.

"I'm small. That's how. Thanks."

"No problem. I know Inuyasha can be… a jerk." He grinned and walked away, his arm around Kanna's waist. The bell rang loudly and Rin groaned.

"Great. Health." Kagura laughed at her antics.

"Come on, Rin. It's only sex."

"Yeah. Gotta do it sometime. But, you might have to pay." Sesshoumaru joked.

"Haha, so clever." Rin muttered. She closed her locker just before she was swept along by the sea of students.

"Why do you have to rag on her like that?" Kagura asked. Sesshoumaru wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her by his side.

"It was just a joke." Sesshoumaru replied.

"You're always like that with her. Teasing her and crap."

"Like I said, I have a reputation to uphold. You know I'd never physically hurt the shrimp." They walked into the health room to see bananas and little packages placed on the desks.

"Learning how to put a condom on properly." Kagura could already guess the lesson plan. She smiled at the sight of Rin hunched down in her seat, Shippou sitting beside her.

"Would have been better if he had just killed me. At least then I wouldn't have to deal with this humility." She muttered.

"It won't be that bad, Rin. And think of it this way. It doesn't matter if you can't put a condom on a banana because you're never going to have sex." Shippou grinned. He picked up the wrapped condom and his grin disappeared. "Why do I get a small?" Kagura stifled a laugh and sat in the desk in front of him, leaving Sesshoumaru to sit in front of Rin.

"Everybody, take a seat. Do not eat the bananas, please." The teacher announced.

"Cucumbers work better. Unless the person has a crooked penis." A student laughed. Rin slumped further in her seat.

"Okada, sit up straight." The teacher ordered. The girl groaned, but sat up none the less.

"Is it possible to die of embarrassment, Shippou?"

**Author's Note**: 21 pages, 9000 words. Long chapter. Three reviews equals a happy authoress and an update. Next chapter will be the rest of the day and detention.


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**: Of course I don't have an excuse for my obscenely long absence from the site. I would say thank you for the reviews, but I only received two. Two in… well over two years. Hm. Not that good. Oh, well. So, I've had this chapter written for a while. It was just a matter of getting around to typing it. Without further ado, here is the third installment of _The Taming of the Shrew_.

**The Taming of the Shrew**

_Chapter Two_

Rin quickly raised a hand to cover her mouth. "Oh, Kami-sama," she muttered.

"I think that answers your question, Rin," Shippou smiled, trying his hardest to keep from laughing as Sesshoumaru jerked the condom out of his hair. Kagura was doing just the opposite - her eyes teared up and she buried her head in her arm to at least stifle the infectious laughter.

"You seem to have flung your condom at me, Okada. But, just for future reference, larges aren't big enough." The class snickered as Rin's face reddened to the shade of a beet.

"Hey, I said enough with the sexual jokes!" Kagura snapped, hitting him on the arm.

"Tell my parents that I love them, Shippou, and to leave my grave unmarked." Rin slid further into her seat as she covered her face with her hands.

"I never had the guts to actually fling anything at him. I commend you, Rin. You gave me my laugh for the day," Kagura giggled. A growl erupted from Sesshoumaru's throat.

"Would it help if I apologized profusely and offered to kill myself in gym so you don't have to?" Rin asked meekly.

"Nice, shrimp." Sesshoumaru stood up as the bell rang and walked out of the classroom with Kagura.

"I must say, that was the most humorous health class we've had in a long time," Shippou laughed. Rin moaned quietly and walked out of the class. "Have fun in Biology. We're starting to dissect frogs. I'll see you in Chemistry." The fox demon waved and headed off to Journalism.

"But, I'm squeamish!" Rin called after him.

"Tell that to your lab partner!" Shippou replied before ducking inside of a classroom.

Rin groaned and trudged up to the second floor for Nanaka's Biology IV class. As soon as she stepped into the classroom the smell of formaldehyde assaulted her nostrils. She covered her mouth with a hand and made her way to her lab partner, Houjo.

"You aren't going to throw up, are you?" the mousy haired boy asked. Rin slowly shook her head, through the motion only made her head swim even more.

"Konichiwa, class. I bet you are all regretting having lunch before Biology. Today we are dissecting frogs. Fun, fun. For those of you who are squeamish, I apologize. Just try not to vomit on the specimen," Nanaka stated.

"Yes! I've waited since August for this!" Inuyasha exclaimed happily. Kagome rolled her eyes and simply grabbed an apron from a nearby drawer.

"Get your aprons, gloves, and any other necessary equipment. Scalpels and other instruments are already on the trays. A list of the organs you are supposed to be identifying is on the board. Now, get to work," the teacher clapped her hands excitedly.

Rin sighed and carefully pulled her hair back with a hair tie she had on her wrist before grabbing an apron and a pair of gloves. She met Houjo back at the lab table and grimaced as she saw the frog.

"I feel like I should be praying right now," she muttered. Houjo grinned and picked up the scalpel, carefully making the first incision. Rin swayed slightly as fog began to cloud her mind.

"Hey, Rin? You okay?" Kagome asked from the lab table directly across from hers. "You look a little pale…" She hardly had time to finish the sentence before Rin collapsed onto the floor.

"Darn it!" Nanaka banged her fist on her desk. "I was hoping no one would faint."

Inuyasha laughed and said, "I think that answers your question, Kag." Kagome glared at him and fought the urge to slap him. She would get him in gym. As the teachers said, the lab was not the place for horseplay.

"Sensei, what am I supposed to do now? My partner's out cold," Houjo said. He looked down at Rin, her arms splayed out at her side.

"You go ahead and complete the assignment. I guess I'll just have to give Rin something else. Um… Sesshoumaru, carry her down to the nurse's office," Nanaka replied.

"What about the assignment?" Sesshoumaru questioned.

"You don't have to stay with her. Just take her down there, explain what happened, then come back. I'll write you a note so you can take the elevator." She pulled a stack of sticky notes towards her and quickly began writing. "Someone remove her apron and gloves." Houjo did as she said and placed the items back in their proper places.

Sesshoumaru carefully picked up her limp body, one hand under her knees, the other supporting her back, and walked to the teacher's desk. She handed him the note and he exited the classroom.

'_She really is light. Can't weigh more than a hundred pounds_,' he thought as he entered the elevator. He tapped the button for the first floor with his foot and waited until the descent ended. The elevator finally stopped and he stepped out.

Rin squirmed in his arms, slowly opening her eyes. "What… happened?" she asked weakly.

"You passed out," Sesshoumaru answered. "Stop squirming. You'll make me drop you."

"Great. My doctor's going to kill me," she muttered. Sesshoumaru walked into the nurse's office and placed her on the cot.

"Dear me, what happened?" the nurse, Suzaka, asked.

"She passed out in Biology. Couldn't take a little gore," Sesshoumaru told her.

"Oh, bite me," Rin grumbled. She rubbed her head and glared at the floor. Sesshoumaru growled quietly, but walked back out of the office.

"This isn't the first time you've been in here, Rin," Suzaka stated. She was a kindly woman, looking to be around middle aged. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I remember hitting the floor, but that's about it," Rin replied.

"You're doctor's going to kill you?" she asked with a smile. Rin nodded bitterly. "I think he'll understand. You have a history of being quite squeamish. Why don't you take your hair down and try to relax? You can stay in here until gym." Rin pulled the hair tie out, sighing as the tension was instantly relieved. "Here, I'm sure your head hurts." Suzaka held out an ice pack, a small cup of water, and a pill.

"When will I be able to take a full dose of Tylenol?" Rin asked as she swallowed the pill with a sip of water.

"As soon as you gain enough weight," the nurse answered.

"Kami, why do people always rag on me about my weight? It's not like I'm anorexic or anything." Rin sighed, lying down on the cot. She saw the shadow of a person on the other side of the door and Sesshoumaru walked back in.

"Nanaka requested I bring Rin's book bag." He dropped the item beside the cot and walked back out. Rin dug around in the bag for a few seconds before pulling out her script for drama.

"Do you have a highlighter, sensei?" she asked. Suzaka nodded and pulled one out of a drawer. She handed it to the teenager and sat on a chair beside the cot.

"New play?"

"Yes. _Romeo and Juliet_. And I'm stuck playing Juliet," Rin murmured. She opened the script to the front page and began searching for her lines.

"Who's Romeo?" Suzaka grinned.

"Sesshoumaru. Personally, I would rather kiss Shippou than him." Rin slid the highlighter over her first lines.

"I remember playing Juliet in my high school play," Suzaka sighed.

"How'd it go?"

"Horribly. I was too nervous to do the kissing scenes. I nearly fell off of the balcony, and I caught mono from Romeo." She paused for a moment and smile sheepishly. "You know, maybe I'm not the person you should be talking to about that."

"I would have to agree," Rin mumbled. "What if I was to dramatically sprain my ankle during rehearsal?"

"A dramatically sprained ankle for you, dear, would be on the verge of a break. Then your doctor would rally yell at you. Speaking of which, when's your next appointment?" The nurse pushed the chair at her desk closer to the cot.

"Tomorrow. Up before the sun and still getting to school late. There is just something wrong with that." She highlighted another line and shook her head.

"You know you're going to have to tell him, right?"

"Of course. He'd figure it out someway or other, even if I didn't tell him. He's just going to yell at me and say that if I ate more I wouldn't have passed out, though," Rin mumbled.

"He's right. You don't eat enough," the woman answered.

"I eat two meals a day, sensei. Not including the snack I have when I get home," she told the nurse.

"You eat one item at hose meals, Rin. And you've always been small for your age." The bell signaling the end of fifth period rang.

"Shippou's going to freak if I don't show up for Chemistry," Rin muttered.

"He'll get over it. Now, back to your diet."

"There's nothing wrong with my diet. I'm a vegetarian and I have a small appetite. I _should_ be small," Rin insisted.

"Step onto the scale, dear." Suzaka grabbed the script from Rin and helped her off of the cot. Rin, muttering all the while, stepped onto the scale and felt her stomach drop.

"Eighty-two pounds," Suzaka sighed and shook her head solemnly.

"Now he'll really kill me. That's ten pounds in a month." Rin sat heavily on the cot and kicked the floor. "He gets made when I've just lost one pound."

"I'd say I told you so, but it doesn't seem appropriate." Rin shook her head and slumped against the wall.

"Oh, well. If it's not my weight we're arguing about, it's my 'strenuous exercise regime'. And that I refuse to change."

"Why?" the nurse asked.

"Running from Konoe is rather fun," Rin laughed quietly and picked up her script. "Besides, I'd rather have to run everyday than get beat up." Suzaka shrugged and went back to her desk.

"Understandable," she replied. "The bell's about to ring, so I'll write you a note for your Chemistry teacher and then you can go to gym." A short note was scribbled and handed to Rin before she jumped off of the cot.

"I'm sure I'll see you again, Suzaka-sama," she laughed, heaving her book bag onto her shoulders. "That is, if I'm not killed in gym."

"Should I write you a note for that class as well?" Suzaka asked. Rin shook her head, gave a short wave, and walked out of the office. "Take the elevator!" the older woman called after her.

Sighing softly, Rin pressed the button for the elevator. It took her to the second floor, stopping as soon as the bell rang. Apparently Shippou saw fit to stay behind in the class so he could yell at her there.

"Where were you?" he asked angrily. Rin glanced back at him and handed the note to the teacher.

"Fainted in Biology," she answered. "Houjo made the first cut and then bam."

Shippou and the teacher smiled sympathetically. "You will need to get today's notes from a classmate. There is a test next Monday, so make sure you're prepared." Rin nodded to the teacher and walked out of the room with Shippou.

"Take the elevator with me. That way you aren't late." Rin and Shippou rode the elevator to the top floor, walked down the slowly emptying hall, and entered the gym, parting at their respective locker rooms.

"Feeling better, Rin?" Kagome asked as Rin pulled her gym bag from one of the lockers.

"I suppose so," Rin answered. She pulled on a pair of track pants and a long-sleeved white shirt while the others changed into shorts and tank-tops. "I just have a headache now."

"I can get Sesshoumaru to take it easy on you today," Kagura offered. Rin shook her head, pulled her hair back again, and walked out of the locker room.

"Gather 'round, everyone," Kaede, the wizened gym teacher, called once everyone was out of the locker rooms. "Don't get your weapons yet." The students who had made to grab theirs quickly turned around. "We are nearing the end of our unit," she stated. "Tomorrow there will be a practical examination. You will be asked to perform certain tasks and then you will fight your partner. Okada, Konoe, you will have to go today as Okada's doctor's appointment will leave her incapacitated and unable to do anything in here tomorrow." Rin and Sesshoumaru nodded in response. "Starting Monday we will being our new unit: high-diving." The teacher handed the student closest to her a stack of papers. "You will need to get your parent or guardian to sign these permission forms saying it is okay for you to get into the pool. Everyone was issued a school swimsuit at the beginning of the year. You will bring it with you everyday. Understood?"

"Hai, Kaede-sama," the class replied. Soon everyone had the permission and fell into their pairs after collecting their weapons.

"Rin, Sesshoumaru, are you ready?" Kaede asked. They both nodded again. "All right. Please show me the proper way to unsheathe your weapons and get into the first position." They did as instructed, Sesshoumaru's long sword gripped in front of him with both hands, one foot some length behind the other. Rin was in a similar position, though her two swords were on either side of her body, one higher than the other. "Without lifting your feet, move into the second position."

Sesshoumaru slid his front foot to the left, circling around Rin as she did the same.

"Sesshoumaru, perform a complex forward attack on Rin. Rin, flat sided block with a break. Hold the position."

Their swords clashed first above Rin's head, then the left, and finally the bottom. Once the last position was achieved, Rin brought her free sword down, catching Sesshoumaru's between the two. Kaede inspected the position and nodded her approval. "Now, get into your own positions. You will freestyle for thirty seconds. Your grade will be based on accuracy, speed, precision, and style. The only way you can fail is if you continue fighting after I call time or intentionally hurt the other. Is that clear?"

They responded by getting into their opening positions. Sesshoumaru held his sword in front of him, his back leg positioned as if he were in the middle of a lunge. Rin crouched onto one knee, one sword held level with his shin, the other one at his thigh. "Begin," Kaede stated shortly.

Sesshoumaru took the offensive and thrust at her abdomen. Rin parried the strike and pushed herself to both feet, glaring fiercely at her opponent as he struck once more. Her swords formed and 'x' shape in front of her as she was forced against the wall, their swords locked together.

"Got any new moves you'd care to show me?" Sesshoumaru asked playfully.

Rin smirked, tossed the sword in her right hand up to readjust her grip on it, and swung it underhandedly at his neck. He bent backwards, causing the blade to slice only through air. During his momentary lapse in attention, Rin forced him backwards and put more distance between herself and the wall.

Sesshoumaru nodded approvingly and circled her once, their eyes never leaving the other. He feigned an overhead attack and as she brought her swords up to block, quickly swung at her feet. She was airborne for only a second, landing on the blade of Sesshoumaru's sword. He smirked at her and Rin's eyes widened before she back-flipped away from him, landing in a split. He brought the flat side of his sword down at her, but she managed to block it with a leg.

"Time," Kaede called. Sesshoumaru pulled his sword away and, surprising though it may have seemed to the spectators, as they had gathered quite an audience, he held out a hand to help Rin up. The girl looked at him for a short second, took his had, and pulled herself to her feet. "Well, well, well," the old woman smiled. "Rather unorthodox moves, though effective nonetheless. You played off of each other very well. One hundreds for both of you." Rin let out a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall to catch her breath. "I may have you two show that last maneuver to the sophomores."

"Gomen-nasai, Kaede-sama," Rin answered. "My doctor would not be too pleased if he found out I was performing gymnastic stunts when he told me not to."

The woman laughed and shrugged. "Oh, well. Can't have everything." She turned, staring at the circle of bystanders. "Back to work everyone!" The crowd cleared and Rin slid to the floor.

"Hey, Rin?" Kagura asked. She was to the left of her and Sesshoumaru, sparring with Shippou. "How can you still do a split like that?"

"Hm? Oh, I, uh, I guess I just can," Rin answered hesitantly. "I don't really think about it much."

"Man, listen to yourself, Kagura," Kagome laughed as she blocked one of Inuyasha's attacks with her archery bow. "Marveling over a split despite the fact that she did a back-flip off of a sword."

"It's really not that-," Rin sighed softly once nearly everyone in the immediate vicinity was talking about the sword fight. "Much." She sighed again and leaned her head back, her eyes staring at the ceiling. "What do you want, Konoe?"

Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow and looked down at her. "Finally started your period, have you?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

"Oh, really clever. Did you come up with that all on your own?" she replied sarcastically.

"You're bending back too much, Shippou. One good kick and you hand the match to her." Rin looked over at Shippou and Kagura just as Shippou fell down. "If she's aiming that low you should either sidestep it or use a hand to keep yourself off the ground."

"After all I helped you with today, Rin, you're giving him tips to beat me?" Kagura asked cheekily.

"You are taking too long to think of the moves. Once he learns to read a face he will block and parry everything," Rin added.

"Oh, thanks," Shippou and Kagura replied simultaneously.

"Do you see fit to offer your little nutshells of wisdom all the time?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Because if so, I find myself wondering why you never helped me."

Rin rolled her eyes and stood up, straightening her track pants. "No, and even if I did, there is not enough help in the world." The bell rang as she walked into the girls' locker room and quickly changed into her regular clothes. The other girls were just walking in as she left. She passed without a word and walked back to the first floor, depositing her unnecessary books in her locker before walking into the drama class.

"Why, hello there, Rin," Gachi greeted excitedly.

"Hello, Gachi-sama," Rin returned stiffly and sat in one of the vacant chairs.

"Still angry about getting detention, huh?" she asked, looking up from some papers on her desk.

"Oh course she is." Rin stifled a groan as Sesshoumaru entered the room. "Didn't you know that this is her first detention in her entire school career?"

"Hello to you, too, Sesshoumaru," Gachi grinned and stood once he was seated. "Now, assignment… I want you to get to know each other. You're costars, so it needs to seem like you're friends at the very least. Therefore, you will meet at least three days a week outside of school, so this does not count. You will talk. I can force you to do little else. I expect to see progress. Is that understood?" Both students nodded. "You have… thirty-five minutes remaining, so I suggest you get to work." She gave a wave and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"This is just great," Rin muttered. "I'm going to die."

Sesshoumaru smirked at her, turned his chair around, and propped his feet up on the one next to his. "Well, well, well. Alone at last. I'm sure this isn't how you pictured your first time, but it'll do."

"Why do you like having the reputation of a player?" Rin asked.

"Because I'm trying to hide my insecurities behind my devilishly good looks," he answered quickly. She rolled her eyes and pulled _Hannibal_ out of her book bag. "Are you always reading?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Obviously not," she replied. "Not exactly the brightest person, are you?"

His eyes narrowed slightly and he took the book from her. "I'm ranked second in our class."

Her eyes widened slightly and she turned sharply to look at him. "_What_?"

"I'm ranked-," she quickly cut him off.

"You mean, you're my competition for valedictorian?" she asked in awe.

"Looks like it," he answered. "Though, if you do me a few favors I could hold back some and keep the way clear."

Rin gagged lightly and covered her mouth with her hand. "Forgive me, I just threw up a little in my mouth."

"Hey, as long as you keep it down when you -," he let the end hang slightly, smirking at her shudder.

"You disgust me," she muttered. "I want to get the assignment over with, so meet me at my house around 5:00 p.m."

"No can do," he replied. "My date with Kagura should run until around 8:00. I'll come then."

Rin lifted a thin eyebrow and pulled her bag onto her shoulders. "And if I'm not awake?"

"You go to sleep at 8:00?" Sesshoumaru asked, returning the lifted brow.

"I try to take my medicine by 7:30," she stated. "It tends to knock me out within half an hour."

"Not one for partying, are you?" he smirked and picked up his own books, walking out of the class with her once the bell rang, signaling the end of detention. Rin merely shook her head, scribbled her address down on a small piece of paper, and held it out for him.

"If you're going to be late, don't come at all," she told him and walked out of the school.

"Wait!" Sesshoumaru jumped down the stairs and was in front of her within a millisecond. "Why do I have to go to your house?"

She mounted her bike and looked at him. "You'll see that if you actually show up," she answered before riding away from the school.

He smirked at her back and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, walking towards a sleek black Mitsubishi. "Hey, babe," he spoke into the receiver. "Yeah, I'm on my way. Bye." He hung up as he started the car and pulled onto the road.

Rin dropped her bike next to the porch once she got home and ran inside. "Mom?" she called gently, slipping her shoes off of her feet and walking into the kitchen. A small black Labrador Retriever bounded towards her instead of her mother. "Hey, Susa. How's my good guard doggy doing? Harassing those mean old doctors?" The dog yelped excitedly and Rin scratched his ears. "That's my good boy."

"Oh, hey, honey," her mom smiled and stepped into the kitchen. "How was school?"

"Decent," Rin answered. "Where is he?"

"Now, you really shouldn't get yourself worked up, dear. Your health is already questionable," the woman who went by the name of Ami stated. Rin placed her hands on her hips and tapped her foot. "Upstairs in bed. The doctors said he needed to rest."

"Thank you," Rin pulled a tea kettle out of a cabinet, filled it with water, and placed it on one of the burners on the stove. "I'm having company tonight. Assignment from Gachi-sama."

"Oh?" her mom asked. "What kind of assignment?"

"Get to knoweth thy enemy so that he may become thine lover," Rin laughed. "Her idea so Konoe and I won't rip each other's throats out."

"All right, dear," the woman looked at a clock and groaned. She grabbed a nurse's hat and her car keys off of the counter. "Rice is already in the steamer. I got some fresh tuna from the market today. Don't forget to take your medicine. Do your homework. Daddy will need his injection. If he's in too much pain the doctors said he could take a little bit of morphine. Let Susa out later. Make sure that Konoe fellow takes his shoes off when he gets here."

Rin smiled gently and led her mom to the door. "We go through the same routine every time you're the night nurse at the hospital, mom. I think I know what to do by now."

Her mom laughed and nodded. "Of course you do, sweetie. I'll see you in the morning at -," Rin sighed and finished the sentence.

"6:00. I know, mom. Bye." Ami finally walked out of the house and left for work.

Rin sighed softly and walked upstairs, pressing her ear to the first door on the left. He's sleeping," she whispered and walked to the end of the hall where her room was. She gathered her laptop and walked back downstairs, curling up on the sofa with her book bag. "All right, paper for Konoe," she muttered.

Rummaging around in her bag, she found the piece of paper Inuyasha had chucked at her earlier that day. "Analyze the character of either Ophelia or Gertrude from William Shakespeare's _Hamlet_. Include the woman's role in the play and how it compares to the role of men," she mumbled. "Cite quotes in MLA format. Why couldn't he do this himself?" She carefully placed her laptop next to her and walked back upstairs to the makeshift library next to her room. "Plays, plays, plays." She found the section and scanned the titles. "There you are, _Hamlet_." The book was removed and she walked back downstairs just as her cell phone began to ring.

She rushed into the living room and glanced at the caller ID as it flashed Shippou. "What is it, Shippou?" Rin asked irritably as she placed the phone to her ear.

"Ah, you live," Shippou cheered gently. "Or is this your ghost speaking?"

"No, I survived," she laughed. "I was just about to start on Konoe's essay."

"So, you're not busy then?" he asked. "Need any help with it?"

"Yes, actually. How soon can you get here?" She had barely finished speaking when the front door opened.

"Here I am," Shippou laughed at her facial expression, which was a mixture of surprise and annoyance. "I was in the neighborhood."

"You really need to give me more of a warning," Rin answered as he took his shoes off and placed them next to the door.

Shippou smirked and closed his phone, sitting next to his best friend on the sofa. "What's the essay on?"

"_Hamlet_," she muttered. "Have to analyze either Gertrude or Ophelia."

"And which one are you going to use?"

"Inuyasha chooses to analyze Ophelia," she laughed and opened her laptop. "Look through the play and start finding quotes that might help." Silence enveloped them, Rin's fingers gliding along the keys and Shippou occasionally feeding her some quotes. "All right, the last period is in place," Rin saved the essay to her hard drive and closed the computer. "Any idea what time it is?"

Shippou glanced at his watched and replied, "6:00."

She nodded slightly and stood up, stretching her arms above her head. "Want to stay for dinner? Mom got some fresh tuna from the market."

"You're going to eat fish?" he asked in amazement, a lifted eyebrow accompanying his dropped jaw.

"Of course not," she answered. "I'm just going to have some rice."

Shippou sighed and stood up, following her into the kitchen. He should have known to not get his hopes up. She once again filed the tea kettle and placed it on the stove along with a sauce pan.

"Could you hand me the soy and chili sauce, please?" she asked as she carefully removed the fish from its packaging and set it on a wooden cutting board. Shippou handed her the items and leaned against the counter.

"Are you going to sear it?" he asked.

"Nope. Tuna sashimi and a sauce for it," she poured some of the two sauces into the pan and turned the burner on. She dipped a finger into the mixture once it was warm and 'hmed' quietly. "It's missing something. What do you think?"

Shippou tasted it as well and shrugged. "Sesame, maybe?" he suggested.

Rin's eyebrows furrowed slightly and she pulled the sesame from the spice cabinet. After adding a little bit, she tasted the sauce again. "Much better."

Dinner passed and Shippou left, leaving the house quiet and rather empty. "7:30," Rin groaned and walked upstairs, deposited her laptop on her desk, and went into the bathroom for a quick shower. She could always soak tomorrow when she might have time to relax.

It was 7:45 by the time she was in her pajamas, which consisted of a pair of flowered pants and a light blue long-sleeved shirt, and hand her hair and teeth brushed. She grabbed a folder from under her pillows on her bed and walked downstairs, placing herself on the wooden bench in front of the piano.

Ten, twenty, thirty minutes passed and she was still working on one of her own compositions. Her father came downstairs at five till nine and kissed his daughter's cheek. "That boy still hasn't shown up?"

Rin sighed and shook her head, her eyes following the man for a moment. He was average height and from the back almost looked normal. His frame was a bit small for a man, but that didn't accurately show the battle his immune system was fighting. To see that, one would have to see his pallid face. His eyes, once bright and shining, had sunken into their sockets, his skin, once taught and firm, was loose and hanging, at least three shades paler since the previous month, and his hair, once thick and glistening, was all but gone due to the Chemotherapy. Then there was the smell. It was virtually undetectable to those who weren't looking for it, but Rin noticed: it was like the walking dead. A mixture of graveyard dirt and age that always followed him, despite his frequent baths. "Almost an hour late," she mumbled over the tinkling coming from the piano as she turned her attention back to her music. "That part still doesn't sound right."

"Have you tried using a B minor instead?" the elderly man asked.

"I've tried using every other note and it just doesn't sound right," Rin shrugged and began playing through the song again as the door bell rang.

Her father answered it, staring at Sesshoumaru for a long minute before allowing him to enter.

"Shoes," Rin kept her back to him, but pointed at the shoes next to the door. He removed his and pushed them against the wall.

Sesshoumaru had just opened his mouth to say something when Susa jumped on him, barking loudly. "Down, dog," he hissed. The animal continued barking.

"Rin, control the dog before he bites someone," her father ordered.

"Now, now, dad, it's not nice to insult our guests." She turned around on the bench and released a sigh. "Susa, get off of Konoe-sama." She patted her legs and the dog left Sesshoumaru to walk to her. "Good boy." She stood up and scratched the dog's head. "Daddy, Konoe Sesshoumaru. Konoe-sama, Okada Rei."

Sesshoumaru gave a bow to the older man and looked down at Rin. "Date lasted longer than I thought."

Rin nodded and was just about to walk into the kitchen when a familiar jingle reached her ears. "Oh, news!" She spun around and ran into the living room, vaulted the back of the couch, and landed upside down.

Rei shook his head as Sesshoumaru opened his mouth to say something. "War report. She'll slay you alive, boy."

"Why, that stupid, idiotic, -," Rin cut herself off before she could say anything truly devastating and threw a small pillow at the television. "Deploying more soldiers." She glared at the box and stood up, turning to the men behind her. "Daddy, upstairs." She walked passed them, into the kitchen, grabbed a small bottle of pills, and downed one with a sip of water. "March." She poked her father in the back and followed him up the stairs, Sesshoumaru lagging behind. The overwhelming scents of death and desperation reached his nostrils, though he couldn't tell exactly who they came from. It would be something he asked Rin.

"You get more and more like your mother everyday," Rei grinned.

"Sesshoumaru, my room is the last one on the right. I'll be in there in a few minutes," Rin stated.

Sesshoumaru nodded and slowly walked down the hall as Rin and her dad walked into the first room.

"Mama said you still needed your shot," she muttered. Rei nodded and sat on the bed while she pulled a small black case from a drawer in the bedside table. She filled a syringe with some clear liquid and carefully stuck it into his arm, pressing down on the plunger. "Call me if you need anything, all right?" Rei nodded again. "Get some rest," she kissed his forehead and walked out of the room.

Sesshoumaru was standing in front of an open door, staring at the small shrine erected inside. "I believe I asked you to wait for me in my room," Rin growled, sliding the door closed with her foot.

"It's been forever since I've been in a _traditional_ home," Sesshoumaru replied.

"So explore one of the others in this city; not mine." She pushed her bedroom door open and stepped inside. Sesshoumaru entered behind her and looked around. The walls were white and rather plain and her daybed was situated in front of some windows and was covered by a white comforter with pink cherry blossoms dotting the fabric. She had a desk on which sat her computer and a television and stereo stood on a small entertainment center.

"You actually look normal from this view," he smirked. "Though I have to ask who the hell these people are." He picked up a picture frame on the desk and examined the photo. A young woman, looking to be no older than twenty-five and a man appearing to be only a couple of years older, smiled at the camera, a small bundle of fabric grasped in the woman's arms.

"My parents," she replied and explained when he furrowed his eyebrows. "I was adopted when I was three. Those are my biological parents."

"I never knew that."

"You never asked," she stated. "Now, can we hurry, please?"

Sesshoumaru nodded and chose to ask the most pressing question. "Why do I smell death and desperation in this house?"

Rin sighed and sank onto her bed. She knew he would just press the matter if she didn't answer him now. "My dad has leukemia. He's been in therapy for a while, but the doctors say that he's not responding as well as he should. The timeline they've given him ends in spring."

"Oh…" he placed himself in her desk chair, his arms resting on the back of it. His mind screamed for a change of subject and, for once, he chose to heed another person's feelings and followed its command. He asked what she did for fun, not expecting such a long list of activities.

"Gymnastics, soccer, piano, judo, kendo, tai kwon do, and a bit of ballroom dancing," she replied.

"Did you write that song you were playing earlier?"

She nodded lightly. "Started writing it three years ago and I've hit a dead end."

"I could tell you were getting rather frustrated with it. So, I know you learned that back-flip and split from gymnastics; what else did you learn?" he asked.

She thought for a moment and responded, "I found out that I can support myself with one arm."

"One handed pushup?"

She shook her head, walked to the middle of the room, and flipped herself into a handstand. She slowly pulled one hand back and placed it on her abdomen to keep her shirt from falling. "With a one handed pushup, your weight is distributed throughout your body. With a one handed handstand, all of your weight is concentrated on that one hand." She groaned slightly and flipped back over, shaking her hair from her face.

The rest of the night passed quickly, filled with actual conversation rather than interrogation. "Before you go," Rin jumped off of her bed and stood in front of her laptop, hooked it up to a small printer, and printed off the _Hamlet_ paper. "I'm going to be late tomorrow, so give this to your brother, please."

"You? Late, Okada?" Sesshoumaru asked, walking out of the room.

"Go home, Konoe." Rin forced him down the stairs and opened the front door as he pulled his shoes back on.

"Goodnight kiss?"

She glared at him and pushed him out of the house. "Goodbye, Konoe," she muttered, closing the door in his face.

**Author's Note**: All right, so not as long as it usually is, but I kind of wanted to end it there. It's still 12 pages and 6280 words, though. I guess that's decent. Please review. I'm sure I've lost several readers, but I'm begging. I need constructive feedback!


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Note**: Okay, so I haven't written in a while, I know. I could give an excuse, but I'm not going to, because excuses are lame. A quick note: I am changing the title from _Pygmalion_ to _The Taming of the Shrew_ because I realized that I was referencing the wrong play. Worst yet, the playwrights are completely different. It was an epic failure. Now, on to the chapter.

**The Taming of the Shrew**

_Chapter Three_

On a normal day, Rin would have been happy to sleep until her mother quite literally had to pull her out of bed and force her to throw some clothes on. Already, though, today was proving to not be a normal day.

It was 3:30 in the morning when her father started coughing and she was running out of her room less than a minute later, her hair disheveled and her glasses threatening to slide off the bridge of her nose. She almost tripped over the hem of her pajama bottoms and stubbed her toe against the door frame, but she was soon helping her father out of the bloodied sheets and into the bathroom attached to the bedroom.

"You shouldn't have come in," Rei croaked as he spat blood out of his mouth before falling into another coughing fit.

Rin waited patiently for him to finish, rubbing his back gently. "It's my job to take care of you when Mom's not here. Besides, I wasn't in that deep of a sleep, anyway." She shrugged, dismissing the situation easily enough.

Rei shook his head and rinsed out his mouth. "You're my daughter; it's your job to take care of yourself," he argued weakly.

"If there were something wrong with me, I would agree, but I'm perfectly healthy," she insisted.

Again, Rei shook his head, managed to roll his eyes, and took the pill and glass of water Rin was holding out for him. "I can't remember when being forty pounds underweight was healthy, but we don't need to argue about this right now." He swallowed the white capsule with a sip of water and allowed her to dab some sweat off of his forehead with a rag before walking back into the bedroom, sitting in a chair in the corner of the room while she changed the bedding. "You really should go back to sleep, though, honey. You've got a doctor's appointment and school today. You're going to be exhausted."

Rin shrugged and folded down the comforter and sheet. "I'll be fine, so don't worry about me, Daddy. Seriously, you're in worse shape than I am." She gently pulled him from the chair he was sitting in and led him to the bed, easing him into the fresh sheets, and pulled them up to his waist. "Now, get back to sleep, okay? I'm about to go for a run since I won't be able to later." She bent down, kissed his forehead, and made her way back across the room, once again stubbing her toe on the door frame as she turned off the light. "Sleep well, Daddy. Mom's going to be home soon, so if you need anything just tell her," she whispered before stepping into the hall and sliding the door closed behind her. Feeling pity for her dad, though understandable, was unacceptable in his eyes. Sighing quietly, she gave a resolute nod and walked away from the door, going back into her room.

Running was quite possibly Rin's favorite form of exercise. Sure, it was freezing and she was quite positive her feet were frost-bitten, but the sense of relaxation that it brought her was irreplaceable. There was no way to synthesize the feeling of running at full speed, the wind whipping at her face, her hair flying freely behind her, her mind, for once, unclogged with worries of school and her dad.

As she walked up the driveway, her muscles beginning to cool down after the ten mile run, the cell phone she'd shoved into the pocket of the sweat pants she'd thrown on began to vibrate. "Moshi-moshi?" she asked, her breathing hard. "Oh, yeah, I'm walking in right now." She hung up, stepped into the house, and almost laughed at her mother's expression. "Don't worry, I'll be ready in half an hour." Ignoring the fact that the cool down phase of a workout was just as important as the warm up phase, Rin bolted up the stairs, tugging her clothes off on the way. She had to be at the doctor's office in just over an hour and she still had to shower and get dressed.

She allowed the hot water and steam from the shower to further relax her already stiffening muscles, standing under the steady flow of water for at least fifteen minutes, feeling it beat down on her skin. It was only after she remembered that there were other important matters to attend to that she forced herself to turn off the water, step out of the shower, and pull on the blue jeans and sweater she'd decided to wear. As promised, she was ready in the allotted half hour and trumped down the stairs, pulling her coat, scarf, and hat on, her book bag on her shoulders and a new book under her arm.

"So, I spoke to your dad," her mother commented as they walked out of the house. It had begun to snow during the short time Rin was inside and she bowed her head, wrapping her arms around herself. It was obvious, though, that she'd stiffened immediately at the mention of her father. "He wants you to stop worrying about him and think more about your own health. I can't say that I disagree."

Sighing quietly, Rin shook her head. "He's my dad, Mom. I'm allowed to worry about him. Especially when he's coughing up blood again." She slid into the car, closed the door, and pressed her head against the window. "He's worse off than I am. I'm underweight and I get sick a lot, but I don't constantly have doctors swarming around me. I'm not on bed rest until I die. I don't have to take fifteen pills a day just to stay out of the hospital. Compared to him, I'm fit as a fiddle, Mom."

"But compared with others your age, honey, your health is just as bad as his. We just wish you would take better care of yourself. These compulsive runs of yours in this weather… You're going to give yourself another stress fracture and get sick again," her mother countered gently.

"Mom, please," Rin groaned and rubbed her head. "Can we _please_ not talk about this right now? I've already had this conversation with you and Dad a million times. My answer hasn't changed, nor has yours, so we're just going to keep saying the same thing over and over again until we get so frustrated with each other that we stop talking."

The older woman was about to retaliate when she saw the distressed look on her daughter's face. "Rest, sweetie. It's still a ways to the hospital." She reached over to pat Rin's hand, smiling softly. "You need to relax. You know it makes everything easier if you aren't wound up."

At this, Rin couldn't help but roll her eyes. "It doesn't change the fact that their sticking a six-inch needle two inches into my back," she grumbled under her breath. "You'd think they'd give you a local anesthetic for something like a lumbar puncture, but no. It's like the doctors are just rubbing it in your face. 'You put yourself in this situation, so we're going to make sure you feel everything.'" Clearly, she wasn't at all mature about the circumstance she found herself in on a monthly basis. In all actuality, she found it rather pointless. She'd been seeing an oncologist for almost a year now on a preventive basis and the man had yet to find anything. What was the point, then, in continuing the torture?

Ami laughed gently and carefully merged onto the highway, her windshield wipers working quickly against the snow as it began to fall more heavily. "You know that's not what they're thinking. Even a local anesthetic can distort the results. Besides, with the typical schedule of your appointments, you either have to go to school or to work after. An anesthetic would make that impossible."

"You're a nurse; you have to say that." Rin punctuated the statement with a yawn, her eyelids beginning to feel heavy. She could feel her mother's eyes on her, then the reassuring pat on her hand. She took this as permission to get at least a little bit more sleep, her eyes finally closing for the last ten minutes of the ride.

The hospital wasn't that far from their house and Rin was rudely awakened after what felt like only a couple of seconds. She blinked blearily before realizing the white, fluffy stuff filling her vision was snow. "It's gotten worse," she murmured as she made sure her scarf was wrapped securely around her neck and her hat on her head.

"Mmm," Ami agreed quietly, turning off the headlights and car, then stepping into the blistering cold. "The weather said we're in for a bad winter. You may have to start taking the car to school or getting a friend to pick you up. I don't feel comfortable with you riding your bike in weather like this." They both practically ran into the hospital, their hair dusted with snow that quickly melted in the welcomed heat. It wasn't quite 6:00 yet and the holding area for the emergency room was fairly empty.

They bypassed the main reception desk and waiting room, taking the elevator to the seventh floor. To the right was the oncology ward; the left, radiology.

"You go sit down, honey. I'll sign you in," Ami stated softly after they took the hall to the right. Rin obeyed without argument, folding herself into an upright fetal position on a chair in the corner, her book propped open on her knees. The cover read _The French Lieutenant's Woman_. The waiting room was empty, but she had the eerie and pervading feeling that it hadn't been for long, as if someone had just walked through the doors she detested with every fiber of her being.

Unfortunately, an empty waiting room meant she had little time to read and at least attempt to muster up some amount of courage. Rin's mother had barely sat down next to her before her assigned oncologist stepped into the room and ushered them through the proverbial Gates of Hell. Biting her lip, Rin dog-eared the page she was on and followed the doctor, Dr. Takahashi, into a smaller room equipped with a bed, the typical monitors, a hospital gown, and, much to her distress, a silver tray already covered with an assortment of needles. She blanched further when she saw a rarer one next to the usual lumbar needle.

"Biopsy today?" she asked, the squeak of her voice betraying her fear.

Dr. Takahashi smiled apologetically. "It's that time again. I'll leave you to get changed and the nurse and I will be in in a few moments." He stepped out of the room and closed the door very quietly behind him.

Ami had to help her get undressed, her hands were shaking so much. "Just relax, Rin-chan. I know it's difficult, but it's only more painful when you stiffen up." The gown was left open in the back, offering easier access to the base of her spine where the lumbar puncture would be performed.

Rin lay on the bed for a full five minutes before Dr. Takahashi and a young nurse walked in. The nurse ran the usual tests, taking Rin's temperature, blood pressure and heart beat, and weight. "You've lost weight again," Dr. Takahashi noted. The nurse was apparently new, as she didn't comment on it, though Rin couldn't miss her look of surprise. "Have you been drinking the protein shakes?"

"I've missed a few days, but usually, yes," Rin murmured.

Dr. Takahashi studied her for several long seconds. "I don't want to prescribe another medication, so try to stay on top of it. If you lose any more, though, I will tell you to take a weight gain supplement." He made a few notes on his clipboard and told Rin to get back in bed. "Have you passed out at all since your last visit?"

At this, Rin almost laughed. "Yesterday. But we were dissecting frogs in Biology; it was caused by squeamishness, not inadequate nutrition."

"Perhaps if you'd eaten, though…" Takahashi failed the complete the sentence, though Ami nodded her agreement. "All right. We'll do the biopsy first so you aren't putting pressure on your back after the puncture. Lie flat on your back and try not to move."

Hesitantly and clearly fearfully, Rin obeyed, blindly reaching out for her mom's hand even before the gown was lifted above her hips. She squeezed her eyes shut and unconsciously held her breath. The needle was sturdy and pierced her hip bone on the right side. Her first instinct was to squirm, but she forced herself to sit still, tears seeping even through her closed eyelids. It wasn't noticeable, obviously, but she swore she felt somewhat diminished when the needle was withdrawn, a bone and tissue sample deposited into relabeled vials.

"It's over, sweetie," Ami whispered, stroking the back of her hand. Rin didn't open her eyes until the gown was pulled back down, a patch of gauze covering the otherwise visible hole. "There, there. The worst is over," her mom consoled gently. She handed Rin a tissue, though it was pointless to wipe her eyes until after the lumbar puncture.

"Very good this time, Rin. Very good." Dr. Takahashi smiled in what was supposed to be a pleased manner. The expression was completely lost on her at the moment. "I know. I'm sick and sadistic. It'll be over soon, though. Just roll onto your left side and _really_ stay still this time. Wouldn't want to accidentally paralyze you." He laughed and Rin paled. She was visibly shaking even as the spot on her back was just sanitized.

Ami was standing at the head of the bed, gently stroking Rin's hair since she couldn't reach her hand. "Sh, sh, sh. It's all right, honey." She continued to whisper to her, but Rin's hand still tightened until her fingernails broke the skin of her palm, tears once more stinging her eyes as the needle was slowly and methodically inserted into her back.

On principle, Rin refused to look at fluids extracted from her body. She didn't see the faint yellow color of the spinal fluid, then, but her mother certainly did. Ami tried not to read too much into it. It could be something as simple as a flu. It didn't have to be a big deal.

Without comment, Dr. Takahashi bandaged her back and told the nurse to get a bottle of apple juice from the staff lounge. "All right, Rin, you're finished for the day. You know the deal, though. Take it easy for the next few days. Try to keep pressure off of your back and lie down whenever possible. Here's a note for your teachers and Hana will be back in a moment with the juice. Light meals for today, so you don't vomit, but I want you to be more conscious about your eating habits, okay?"

Rin answered shakily and tried desperately to rid her cheeks of the evidence of her pain. Ami helped her off the bed once the door was closed again, then helped Rin back into her jeans and sweater, smoothing her hair affectionately. "I know, Rin. We're just trying to be safe, though."

Nurse Hana knocked gently on the door a few moments later, a bottle of apple juice and two signed notes in her hands. "An orderly will help you out to your car, Okada-sama. Dr. Takahashi doesn't want her walking unless absolutely necessary."

Rin suffered through the embarrassment of being wheeled out of the hospital and Ami quickly brought the car to the front entrance, helping her into the passenger seat. It didn't take long for the two procedures, which took over an hour to complete, to take their effect on Rin. She leaned the seat back, curled up as much as possible with the seatbelt on, and focused on taking deep, steady breaths. In through her nose, out through her mouth. Ami drove considerably slower on the way to the high school and, after one stop at a store to purchase a small pack of crackers, pulled into the parking lot half an hour after the first bell rang.

"Do you need help inside, sweetie?" she asked softly as Rin forced herself to sit up, waiting a few seconds for the world to stop spinning before she opened the door.

"No, I'll be fine," Rin murmured. It was a struggle to get her book bag on properly and Ami had to twist the cap off of the apple juice.

"All right. I'm working again tonight, unfortunately, so see if you can get a ride home, okay?" Ami smiled sadly up at her daughter and watched her limp up the stairs into the school, only then pulling out of the parking lot.

Rin first had to stop by the front office, flash the note from Dr. Takahashi that said she had a doctor's appointment, then receive a hall pass to get to class. Gachi was preaching the importance of good characterization from the front of the drama class. Rin silently slid all three slips of paper onto the teacher's desk and took the only available seat in the class: next to Sesshoumaru.

Perhaps it was the pallid color of her skin, but even Sesshoumaru didn't feel right about teasing her at the moment. She sat with her head propped on one hand, her eyes closed and breathing shaky. He caught the strong stench of antiseptic and blood, then he glanced down and saw her fumbling with the twist tie on a pack of crackers. Now that he thought about it, she was trembling. Not just shivering from the cold; _trembling_. Slowly and carefully, so as not to startle her, he reached over and took the pack from her. She still jumped considerably, but he handed the pack back to her less than two seconds later, the twist tie gone. "Are you okay?" he asked, the mildest hint of concern leaking into his voice.

Rin blinked at him for a moment, confused, and stopped mid-shake of her head in the affirmative. He could smell a lie, anyway, right? That's what she'd always heard. So what was the point? She shook her head in the negative, then, but didn't elaborate. "Um… Thank you," she whispered, then turned her attention to Gachi-sama. Unfortunately, she was almost completely lost. She understood what characterization was and why it was so important for any stage production, but… She paled, if possible, even more.

Seeing this, Sesshoumaru couldn't help but let out a rare chuckle. "You can borrow my notes later," he offered.

Rin glanced at him, then at the sheet of notebook paper on his desk. It was covered in a cramped, though neat, handwriting. She nodded to him and committed herself to taking notes the rest of the class; however, it wasn't working too well in her favor. Her vision was foggy. The desk kept drifting in and out of her line of sight and she finally just had to close her eyes again, nibbling silently on a cracker. It felt like lead in her stomach and she quickly abandoned the endeavor.

There were only twenty minutes left of class and they passed by quickly enough. She winced when the bell rang, announcing the end of the period, and tipsily forced herself out of her desk. She swayed for a moment and noticed that Sesshoumaru actually reached a hand out for her. Another confused look was flashed at him and he grinned slowly. "I'm not a complete asshole, Okada. Try to stay on your feet."

"Y-yes. Sorry, I'll…" She was cut off when Gachi asked her to wait a moment. Rin looked back at the professor and swayed to the desk. "Yes, ma'am? I'm sorry I was…" She paused and blinked the fog from her gaze. "Late. Doctor's appointment."

"Yes, I read the note. How are you feeling, though? You look pale," Gachi replied as she tidied her desk and turned to erase the inane sketches on the whiteboard.

"I'll be fine, ma'am. Just having an off day," Rin murmured. "If that's all, I should get to Anatomy."

Gachi nodded. "You can go, then. Don't forget about that assignment I gave you and Konoe."

Rin nodded in return and went back to her desk, struggling to lift her book bag onto her back. She teetered under the weight and had just stepped into the student-crammed hallway when Sesshoumaru appeared in front of her.

Wordlessly, he took her book bag from her, holding it easily in one of his hands. "As I said, I'm not a complete asshole, Okada." He easily made a hole in the crowd and guided her to the elevator. He did manage to show tact and waited to question her until they were alone inside at least. "You look like you're about to faint."

Indeed, Rin had collapsed against the wall of the elevator, her eyes closed and breathing shallow. "It's nothing you need concern yourself with," she murmured weakly and brushed her hair away from her face.

"Perhaps not, but Gachi did just remind you of our assignment. Doesn't getting to know you entail getting to know why you look like death at the moment?" he queried.

She glared feebly at him. "Later, Konoe. Just drop it."

Sesshoumaru lifted an eyebrow. "I'm free all afternoon. This evening at 7:00?"

Rin was silent, studying him as intently as she could. He wouldn't take no for an answer. "Fine." Just then, the elevator opened and he again guided her to the anatomy classroom, setting her book bag down next to a desk and taking the one next to it.

Akio-sama was already at the front of the room, waiting patiently as everyone filtered in. "Sit next to your partners. We can work in here today, since the library is already booked. So, I want you to at least _attempt_ to start sketching your partner. If you don't have an artistic eye, there are measuring tapes on the table at the back of the room. Remember, I'm grading on accuracy. Not necessarily how good the final product is."

There was the usual scuffle of desks against the floor as partners tried to get closer and Aimi once more forced herself out of her seat to hand Akio the notes that Gachi had returned to her. He tutted softly under his breath, nodded, and handed them back to her. "I understand if you can't participate today, then. Go to the nurse or bathroom as needed, I won't require you to ask for a pass." He returned the notes to her and watched her wobble back to her desk, a look of pure sympathy on his face.

It became obvious very quickly that Rin wasn't going to be doing any sketching today. She couldn't even hold her pencil steady. Shippou and Kagura, who had taken the desks directly behind her and Sesshoumaru, stared blatantly at her for a few seconds. "You all right, Rin?" Shippou asked. "Didn't see you in the hall between classes or this morning."

Rin nodded. "I'm fine. Just a flu," she murmured. Shippou wasn't as sensitive to lies, so he didn't question it. She did get sick a lot, after all.

"All right. You should really be at home, then. This is becoming a habit for you, isn't it? Once a month…"

"I said I'm fine, Shippou. Just do your work." Her voice was a bit more forceful this time, though it was still embarrassingly weak. She reclined her head on her hand again, eyes closed and head throbbing against the din of noise that had filled the room.

To his credit, Sesshoumaru was silent for a time, turned in his desk so he could see her. "Just answer if you can. If not, I'll shut up." He studied her, received no answer, and pressed on. "How tall are you?"

Rin had to think about it for a second. "5'2"."

"Weight?"

"82 pounds." She didn't need to open her eyes to know Sesshoumaru's eyes had widened minutely.

"Cup size? Has to be accurate," he fielded.

"32 A," she murmured and rubbed her forehead.

Sesshoumaru withheld any derogatory comments, scribbling down the numbers she gave him. "Do you know your measurements?" She shook her head. "Think you can remain stable long enough for me to get them?"

She answered by pushing herself up again, this time taking the bottle of apple juice with her. Kagura watched the way Sesshoumaru almost hovered, nudging Rin just slightly if she was in danger of running into a desk.

"That's interesting, don't you think?" she asked Shippou quietly as she craned her neck to watch the two in the back of the room.

"Hm?" Shippou glanced back at them, as well, then smiled at Kagura. "I don't think Rin's trying to steal your boyfriend, so no need to worry about that."

Kagura laughed. "No, I know she's not that type of person. Just… Even I'm surprised. Sessh doesn't usually show softness toward people."

Shippou shrugged. "Even the sharpest briar has a weak spot. Guess his is seeing a sick girl."

"I guess you're right," Kagura murmured, then turned her attention back to the assignment. "Should I sculpt you with an erection or flaccid?"

Shippou snorted. "I leave creative interpretation up to the artist," he conceded lightly.

In the back of the room, Sesshoumaru allowed Rin to lean against the table that had the assortment of measuring tapes on it. "I guess Shippou doesn't know there's an actual problem with you, then?" he asked under his breath, stretching the tape across her shoulders.

"There's not a problem," Rin practically hissed. She lifted the bottle of juice to her lips once Sesshoumaru had finished that measurement and took a careful sip. She hated this. She wasn't aware of her surroundings, her vision was constantly fogging over, and she was covered in a cold sweat. Inuyasha would love to take advantage of her when she was like this. "Where's your brother?" she asked, slowly scanning the room. No, he wasn't there. She saw Kouga, Ayame, Naraku, Kikyou, Miroku, and Sango, but Inuyasha and Kagome were absent.

"He and Kagome got into a pretty bad fight this morning when I handed him that paper you wrote for him. They're in the counselor's office until they can settle it. I need you to stand up straight so I can measure your hips." Rin proved incapable of standing upright of her own freewill, so Sesshoumaru acted hesitantly. "If you slap me, whatever truce we have right now is off, Okada," he threatened mildly and placed his hands on her hips, applying just enough pressure to pull them forward slightly.

Even that, though, almost made her crumble to the floor. She swatted the hand on her right hip away, her eyes squeeze shut again. Sesshoumaru glared at her for all of half a second before he noticed the swat had been from pain, not prudishness. "Can I get the back side?" he asked, watching as she slumped more heavily against the table. She shook her head slowly and tried desperately to steady her breathing. "All right. We'll finish when you're better." He watched her struggle to stand up, fought the impulse to help her, then walked silently to the front of the room to murmur something to Akio.

Rin watched through bleary eyes as he returned, her book bag in hand. "I'm taking you to the nurse. Come on." He did help her this time, a hand slowly applying pressure to the middle of her back until she was upright. He didn't pick her up until they were outside the classroom, her book bag now slung over his shoulder. No matter where he positioned his hands, she seemed to be in an immense amount of pain. "Aren't doctors supposed to make you feel better? Not leave you like this?"

She scoffed. "Preaching to the choir, Konoe. Move that back hand." She managed to relax a little when the pressure was off of the puncture mark on her back.

Sesshoumaru looked down at her as he waited for the elevator. "Mind telling me what's up?"

"I said later, didn't I? No one but Suzaka knows about this. The other teachers only know the bare minimum and that's how I'd like to keep it." She groaned at the sudden jolt when the elevator started its descent, her stomach rising uncomfortably close to her throat. What was that trick she'd learned to fend off nausea? She tried quite pathetically to remember, then realized it wasn't working. "Bathroom first," she whispered, a hand rising quickly to cover her mouth.

He moved as smoothly as possible, knocking on the door to the strictly off-limits faculty bathroom before pushing it open. "I'll stand guard."

Rin didn't even have time to mutter a response. She was inside as soon as he'd set her down, locked the door, and knelt in front of the toilet. It was a painful heaving of her stomach once she'd vomited up everything she'd eaten in the past day. She crashed back to her knees when she tried to stand, letting out an injured yelp.

Sesshoumaru tried the door handle, but was forced to stay in the hall until she emerged, her face and bangs damp.

"Sorry," Rin whispered. "I…"

He shook his head and picked her up for a second time that day, the hand supporting her back finding the place that seemed to cause her the least amount of pain.

Suzaka looked up sharply when he entered the nurse's office and instantly stood up, ushering him into another room, darkened, and filled with a row of beds that looked considerably more comfortable than the cot. "Trying to carry the weight of the world in this condition." She shook her head and quietly asked Sesshoumaru to place her on the first bed.

"I'm fine," Rin tried to argue again. She was so far from 'fine,' though, it was practically roaring.

Suzaka said nothing and placed two fingers to the pulse in her right wrist. "Much too low. You've just thrown up?"

Sesshoumaru nodded in response. "Commandeered the faculty bathroom so she could have some privacy."

The nurse seemed surprised that he was still standing there. "Um… Right. Could you bring me the thermometer, please? First drawer of the medicine cabinet in my office." He was gone and back in less than a second. "Here, try to hold it under your tongue." Suzaka even had to help her with that much. "101.3. I'm sending you home, Rin. Let me call your mother. Sesshoumaru, could you stay with her for just a few more minutes? I'll write you a note for class."

He nodded again, grinning at the glare Rin sent after the nurse. "Always so pleasant toward people who try to help you?"

"I'd drop kick you to Germany if I could stand up," Rin murmured and rolled onto her left side, sighing as the pressure was shifted to less painful areas.

"Except for I'm twice you're weight and over a foot taller than you," he countered mildly.

"I told you I do judo. It's not all about pure strength. I use yours against you." She coughed quietly, peeking an eye open when Suzaka returned.

"Your mother didn't pick up. I tried your house and her cell." The woman bit her lip, distressed. "I don't want to make you stay in here all day. Is there anyone else I can call to give you a ride?"

Rin shook her head weakly. "Dad has to stay in bed. No relatives in the area."

"I could drive her," Sesshoumaru offered without thought. "I already know where you live."

Suzaka and Rin blinked together. "Um… Let me page your teacher to get it excused. What class are you in right now?"

"Anatomy with Akio," he answered.

Suzaka nodded, then walked back out of the room to go to the main office.

"You really didn't have to do that," Rin whispered. "I don't like accepting charity."

He shrugged heavily. "It's a ride. You aren't indebted to me for the rest of eternity. Unless you have something you're willing to offer." He flashed his trademark smirk, his ears pricking slightly as the PA system beeped.

"Teacher Akio, please come to the main office. Akio to the main office." It was only a few minutes later that Suzaka returned, nodding her head.

"He'll excuse it. Just wants you to get better, Rin. So…" She penned two notes quickly and handed them to Sesshoumaru. "In case anyone stops you between here and your car. I want you to stay in bed when he gets you home, Rin, all right? There's only so much I can tell your teachers, but they know the basics; they don't expect you to have your assignments on Monday, so take that time to rest. Promise me."

Rin groaned when Sesshoumaru picked her up again, but gave a nod and even murmured a thank you. Sesshoumaru carried her outside and carefully deposited her in the passenger seat of his car. She seemed unable to perform even the smallest tasks, so he reached over her, fastened her seatbelt, then slid into the driver's seat. "You aren't in danger of throwing up again, are you? I just had the car cleaned out."

"Just don't drive too fast," she muttered and shifted in vain to find a more comfortable spot.

Sesshoumaru obeyed, not that he had much of a choice. It was still snowing pretty heavily and, in spite of his own feelings about sympathy and pity, he couldn't help but pity Rin when he looked at her. Was he really _that_ mean to her? The thought disturbed him and it wasn't made any easier when he remembered what she'd said to him just the previous day. It wasn't what he did; it was what he _didn't_ do. True, Inuyasha hardly ever listened to him, but Sesshoumaru could still have interfered whenever his half-brother decided to use Rin as a punching bag. Was that his responsibility, though? The school should do something about it; not him.

They were both silent during the fifteen minute drive, save for Rin's groans whenever he hit a bump in the road. Sesshoumaru found himself murmuring sincere apologies whenever this happened and that disturbed him all the more. They were of two different social classes. They ran in different circles. They'd never been friends. What the hell was wrong with him.

"Will your dog attack me again?" he asked once he pulled into the Okada driveway. There was no car; he assumed her mother was gone.

Rin merely shook her head and waited for Sesshoumaru to unbuckle her seatbelt - she was still trembling too much to do much of anything-before trying to push the door open. In a flash of silver, Sesshoumaru was at the passenger side door, propping it open as he lifted her out, once more cradling her in his arms. No wonder some people worried so much about her. She weighed practically nothing.

"Last one on the right, correct?"

She nodded this time and was about to remind him to take his shoes off at the door, but he was already doing that, then closed the door with a foot. Susa walked slowly around a corner, his tail tucked between his legs. He could always tell when something wasn't right.

Sesshoumaru walked so smoothly. She could notice that even in her half-conscious state. Like a cloud. Or a still pond. She hesitantly looked up at him, his face stone and unreadable. "Could I get you to do me two more favors?" she asked meekly when he actually tucked her into bed, pulling the blankets up to her chin.

He quirked an eyebrow. "Now you're _asking_ for charity?" he asked, but then smiled. "What, Okada?"

"There's some chamomile tea in the kitchen, if you could make me a cup. And check on my dad on your way back?" Sesshoumaru nodded and turned off her bedroom light on his way out, leaving the door cracked just enough so a sliver of light from the hallways penetrated the darkness.

Rin closed her eyes, the world still spinning. Deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. She did this until Sesshoumaru returned and she was almost asleep. "Your father is sleeping. Do you want me to stay here for a while to make sure you continue to have a pulse?"

She shook her head. "You should go back to school. But, um…" She opened her eyes; dark brown met honey. "Thank you."

Sesshoumaru faltered, his gaze subconsciously softening. "Get some sleep, Okada. You aren't making any sense." When her eyes were closed again, he placed his notes from theater next to the cup of steaming tea, then walked back out of the room, closing the door all the way this time.

Just as he exited the house, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He flipped it open, scowling when he saw it was a text message from Inuyasha. "Heard you left school with the freak. If you want to get into her pants, how 'bout a bet?"

Author's Note: And… scene. Not a lot going on yet, but the plot has been revealed and what is this forming between Rin and Sesshoumaru? Hm, who knows. So sorry it took forever to get this out. 14 pages, 6335 words.


End file.
